SREL Reprint #3243

Herpetology at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory

Roger A. Anderson

Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, USA

Introduction: Over 200 herpetological research publications have been generated by the resident staff, students, and affiliates of the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL). SREL is operated by the University of Georgia under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Although well-equipped for controlled organismal and population research in laboratory and outdoor seminatural enclosures, SREL is particularly conducive to field research. It is located on 483 km2 of protected, DOE-owned land in South Carolina called the Savannah River Site (SRS). The SRS is bordered on the southwest by the Savannah River and encompasses parts of Aiken, Barnwell, and Allendale Counties, about 40 km SE of Augusta, Georgia. Although the SRS's prime function is the production of radionuclides, the site is designated as a National Environmental Research Park. Hence, long-term research can be done on much of the SRS without the threat of habitat destruction or public interference, particularly at the exclusive SREL research areas. More than 8100 ha have been declared by DOE as research set-aside habitats that are protected from industrial development and forestry programs.

SREL Reprint #3243

Anderson, R. A. 1989. Herpetology at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. Herp Review 20(3): 60-62.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).