Marine Institute UGA Marine Institute Sapelo Island, GA 31327

The Marine Institute, founded in 1953 primarily as a research institute, has been a center of nearshore ecological and geological research since its inception. The main goals of the research conducted at the Marine Institute are to understand the process which affect the health of the salt marshes and coastline and to identify the role of the nearshore environment in the maintenance of our coastal resources.

The main laboratory building houses offices and laboratories for resident and visiting scientists, two modern instrument rooms, two flowing seawater laboratories, a library (with holdings in excess of 6000 volumes), a computer facility, and an interactive electronic classroom. Numerous support facilities are present, including student housing and apartments for visiting scientists. The research vessel R/V Spartina is 44 ft boat designed for work in shallow estuarine environments. Several small outboards are also available for research.

Current research interests at the Marine Institute are oriented towards the study of basic processes within marshes as well as the system-level ecology of the salt marshes, their associated estuarine complexes, and the inshore coastal ecosystem. Publications of the Marine Institute (over 800 in number) are gathered together into volumes of Contributions; contact the Librarian, UGA Marine Institute, Sapelo Island, GA 31327 for more information.lcammon@arches.uga.edu

The Marine Institute is a unit of the University of Georgia's School of Marine Programs. Its facilities are available for use by graduate students who have completed their formal classroom studies at an accredited college or university and wish to pursue their degree requirement research in estuarine or marine ecological studies. The Marine Institute's facilities are also available on a limited basis to instructors with a university class or researchers (faculty and graduate students) with a reasonable need for access to Sapelo Island for education or research (see FAQ's below).

The Marine Institute offers a StudentIntern Program designed to allow first year graduates students and advanced undergraduate students to learn about basic environmental research through hands-on experience under the guidance of Marine Institute resident faculty. For more information on this program, contact: Dr. Steven C. Pennings, Coordinator, Student Intern Program, UGA Marine Institute, SapeloIsland, GA 31327.

The Marine Institute offers a VisitingScientist Program designed to enrich the research programs of the Institute with the fresh perspectives of experienced outside scientists. Since 1986, a private foundation has provided funding to support 29 Visiting Scientists: eighteen from 13 foreign countries,and eleven from 10 of the United States.

James J. Alberts

Director and Research Scientist. Ph.D. 1970 Florida State University. The transport and fate of man-made and natural materials in the environment; the interaction of natural organic matter with trace metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and radioisotope inputs to the environment and how these interactions affect the biogeochemical cycles of materials; the use of remote sensing technologies for the advancement of regional and ecosystemslevel studies. jalberts@arches.uga.edu

Ronald T. Kneib

Senior Research Scientist. Ph.D. 1980, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Population and community dynamics of estuarine fishes and invertebrates; life histories and autecology; application of field experiments to address ecology problems in estuarine environments; landscape structure and functional ecology of tidal wetlands. http://www.arches.uga.edu/~rtkneib

Steven Y. Newell

Senior Research Scientist. Ph.D. 1974, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Microbes of coastal-marine ecosystem; ecology of eukaryotic-mycelial microbial decomposers in saltmarsh and mangrove ecosystems; interactions among eukaryotic mycelial microbes, photosynthetic microbes, prokaryotic saprotrophs, and microbivorous invertebrates. http://www.arches.uga.edu/~newell/

Steven C. Pennings

Assistant Research Scientist. Ph.D. 1990, University of California, Santa Barbara. Chemical mediation of plant-herbivore interactions; community patterns in salt marsh plants; herbivory; host range of grazers; marine chemical ecology, biogeography.

The Marine Institute is located on the southern end of Sapelo Island,a barrier island approximately 5 miles off the Georgia mainland. Behind Sapelo Island and the other barrier islands of this coastline lie extensive salt marshes dominated by smooth cordgrass,Spartina alterniflora. The coastal marshes of Georgia and neighboring South Carolina account for almost one-third of all the marshes on the east coast of the United States. These highly productive systems provide a home for oysters, clams and other organisms whose life cycle occurs exclusively within the estuary, and for young shrimp, crab, and fish that use the estuary as a nursery ground. The marshes protect the shorelines from erosion and also act as a purification system by filtering out many pollutants added to the waters by human activities. The decomposing marsh grasses provide nutrients for plants and animals that live in the estuaries and on the nearshore continental shelf.

Approximately 8700 acres of the Sapelo Island marshes, upland, and tidal creeks are designated as a National Estuarine Research Reserve by NOAA. This area was set aside because of its pristine nature and is intended for use in basic research and education relevant to salt marsh ecosystems.
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Link to NOAA's SINERR Web Site (Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve)

Who can be an official guest of the Marine Institute

We accept requests from official university classes and researchers (faculty and graduate students) with a reasonable need for access to Sapelo Island for education or research. If the UGA Marine Institute is not the most appropriate avenue for access to Sapelo Island you have several options (see: SAPELO ISLAND VISITOR CENTER).

How do I request access to Sapelo Island as an official Marine Institute guest?

Faculty wishing to bring a class for a field trip should contact Jon Garbisch, Educational Program Specialist. Given space is available, generally any course in the natural sciences is acceptable.

Researchers (faculty and graduate) should send in a research prospectus. Graduate students: requests for housing and space should originate in writing from the major professor.

Please see the recent memorandum on research access and other information on this topic at What's New @ UGAMI

Please send all request materials to:

Jon Garbisch
Educational Program Specialist
UGA Marine Institute
Sapelo Island, GA 31327