Tallulah Story, Emory junior, collecting snails to set up a behavioral experiment in a salt panne within a salt marsh in Brunswick, GA during the Coastal Biology trip
This year, the Coastal Biology class learned about the different habitats that the SE Georgia region/coast uniquely supported and explored these different habitats over their spring break trip. Taught by Dr. David Civitello, the curriculum focused on building skills in field – observation, documentation, and data analysis, using each habitat and their trusty field notebooks as anchors. After arrival on the gorgeous St. Simon’s Island, they made their way to Harris Neck Wildlife Nature Refuge to practice field observation skills, and lending the name “Big Daddy” to a particularly impressive American alligator. They also stayed closer to St. Simon’s, collecting data about cordgrass and snails in a local salt marsh near the Brunswick Georgia Department of Natural Resources site. The group also visited Driftwood Beach and the Sea Turtle Center at Jekyll Island numerous times during their stay. This year marked the class’s first chance to spend a full day at the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR), part of a nationwide network of more than 30 sites. On Sapelo, students saw unique saltmarsh and coastal habitats, learned about the historical significance of the site for the field of ecosystem ecology, and conducted transect surveys to evaluate saltmarsh delineation. The class also took advantage of a unique full moon and lunar eclipse even to schedule their saltmarsh kayak excursion after dark! Overall, the beauty of Georgia’s coast and the comradery formed among students led to an educationally meaningful experience.
Upon returning to Emory, students engaged in novel analyses with “Big Data” uniquely available from the NERR site. They also answered the question, “How fast can periwinkle snails move?” It turns out that it’s faster than they all hypothesized!
Tallulah Story attended this year’s trip and said, “For me, the opportunity to go into the field presented a unique chance to immerse myself in the Georgia coast, explore field research, and deepen my understanding of coastal habitats. The support of the field grant and scholarship allowed me to take a once-in-a-lifetime class that has not only made me a better scientist but also a better community member. I was able to witness, first-hand, the ecological and social challenges facing these barrier islands today, while deepening my understanding of ecology and biology”.