We assemble diverse, interdisciplinary teams of faculty, external experts and students to collaborate on the world’s greatest environmental and sustainability challenges and turn research into action for the common good. Our research isn’t restricted to the lab: we are transforming Georgetown’s campus into a living laboratory where we develop urgently-needed, scalable solutions to green the campus and broader community—and shape the future of our planet.
Researchers in the Physics Department of Georgetown University have demonstrated a novel approach to achieve strong magnets using high entropy alloys, without relying on the traditional ingredients of rare-earth elements.
We examined mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and genome-wide SNPs using specimens collected from breeding and migration sites across the range of the Bachman’s warbler. We found no signals of strong population structuring across the breeding range of Bachman’s warblers in both mtDNA and genome-wide SNPs. Thus, long-term population isolation did not appear to be a significant contributor to the extinction of the Bachman’s warbler. Instead, our findings support the theory that Bachman’s warblers underwent a rapid decline likely driven by habitat destruction, which may have been exacerbated by the natural rarity, habitat specificity and low genetic diversity of the species.
July 31, 2024
ECo Faculty Network
Explore over 100 Georgetown faculty furthering research and teaching on complex environmental issues
Below is a list of research programs related to the work of the Earth Commons:
Marra Lab
Director Peter Marra’s research uses birds to help us define and understand broad environmental issues, tackling contemporary conservation challenges by addressing fundamental knowledge gaps at the intersection of ornithology, ecology and conservation biology. The Marra Lab in Georgetown’s Department of Biology investigates migratory connectivity, full annual cycle ecology, urban ecology & applied conservation, Kirtland’s Warbler conservation & management, and identifies the smoking guns in bird declines.
Through the Migratory Connectivity Project, led by Georgetown University and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and together with the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, we are working on an important and exciting two volume book entitled “Discovering Unknown Migrations: The Atlas of Migratory Connectivity for the Birds of North America.”
