Mark Hoog joined the Coastal Ecology Lab in 2020, where he helps manage the Okefenokee alligator project and conducts research on reducing human-wildlife conflict in urban and residential areas. He is a Ph.D. student at Georgia Southern University, focusing on alligator behavior, genetics and epigenetics. His research examines alternative management strategies, genetic and epigenetic diversity in Okefenokee alligators compared with other Georgia populations, and how maternal care influences offspring through epigenetic mechanisms.

A South Carolina native, Hoog earned his bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in chemistry from Newberry College in 2019. He began his career working with crocodilians at a Texas sanctuary, then served as a field technician with Clemson University studying aversive conditioning on alligators in coastal South Carolina. He obtained his master’s degree in biology from Georgia Southern University in 2023. Hoog is passionate about fieldwork, data analysis and sharing scientific knowledge through public outreach and education.