Biology Major Receives Inaugural Fellowship to Research Ogeechee River

Graduate student Brian Bush is the first recipient of a major fellowship — the annual Ogeechee Riverkeeper research fellowship. The fellowship is funded by investments secured from a settlement reached from the huge fish kill in the Ogeechee in 2011. That settlement called for a more frequent and transparent water-testing protocol and an endowment to continue efforts to research and protect the river.

Bush, who is pursuing a master’s degree in biology, is documenting crayfish populations and distribution, with a focus on Procambarus petersi. The Ogeechee River Basin is home to 16 different native crayfish species and the P. petersi is an endemic species commonly called the Ogeechee Crayfish.

“The Ogeechee River is a fascinating and understudied system, so I’ve been very excited to work with the Ogeechee Riverkeeper to spurn new research in the basin,” said Bush. “With such high diversity of native crayfish in the Ogeechee, proper documentation of them is imperative to ensure not only their future success but also to maintain the things that make the Ogeechee the unique ecosystem that it is.”

His project also aims to provide education and outreach opportunities throughout the watershed. Bush is leading the project with biology Professor Checo Colón-Gaud, Ph.D., the associate dean of the Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies. The Ogeechee flows through 22 Georgia counties and provides recreational activities that include fishing, swimming and boating.