OUT OF THE BOX AND INTO THE FIELD - INTERDISCIPLINARY UNDERGRADUATE SCIENCE EDUCATION ON A GEORGIA BARRIER ISLAND

St. Catherines Island (SCI), Georgia provides an outstanding environment for field-based interdisciplinary science education with salt and brackish marshes, fresh water ponds, ephemeral freshwater wetlands, maritime forests, lagoons, coastal dunes and beaches that serve as critical nesting habitat for loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). The Georgia Southern University (GSU) Sea Turtle Program at St. Catherines Island conducts required monitoring of sea turtle nesting activity on SCI for the GA DNR, and has provided field based educational programs on SCI since 1992. A concurrent course package consisting of Sea Turtle Natural History (GEOL 5740) and Barrier Island Environmental Geology (GEOL 5340) is offered in July, and includes 10 days in residence on SCI for 18 students which consist mostly of geology and biology majors. GEOL 5740 requires teams to monitor segments of SCI beach each morning, documenting all crawlways and nests and relocating doomed nests. Teams report their work at daily debriefings and the data is entered into the seaturtle.org web site. Students keep a daily journal and prepare a paper on conservation and nesting activity of loggerhead sea turtles, illustrated with their image collection. Geology majors learn about the ecological role of the beach as wildlife habitat and observe formation of biogenic structures as the biology majors learn about the geologic processes that determine the physical characteristics of a critical habitat. GEOL 5340 requires field project design and data collection summarized with a written report and presentation. Projects integrating geology and biology include use of GPR to determine length and depth of gopher tortoise burrows, thermal profiles of nesting habitat, and wetland salinity measurement with plant identification. An image collection documenting barrier island environments and geomorphological features with a location map is required. Field trips explore the geologic and hydrogeologic evolution of the island and anthropogenic impacts. Lectures from geologists, biologists, naturalists and veterinary specialists provide enrichment. Interdisciplinary science research is emphasized today and this program provides a hands-on interdisciplinary field experience.