Natasha Wierzal
Biology, Senior

On a complete whim, I decided to apply for Dr. Sparkes’ BIO 318 Field Studies in Marine and Estuarine Biology class offered during the December intercession. I was very excited to find out I was one of only ten students to be selected for the trip. However, I could not stay excited for long, because I had plane tickets to book, studying to do before we even left, and lots and lots of supplies to plan and pack. I was a bit nervous to be roughing it for ten whole days with people I did not really know and doing ten weeks of work in such a short span. The best bit of advice we were given about the trip was to lean into it and stay enthusiastic and positive, and it really came in handy. We were scheduled to be visiting so many different ecosystems and designing so many experiments; truthfully, I did not think I was going to make it before we left!

The field station we worked out of was part of the Department of Natural Resources’ National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) at Bennet’s Point, a site thirty minutes from the main road, with only twenty-six permanent residents. We overlooked the estuary formed by the basin of the Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto rivers into the St. Helena Sound. It was amazing to wake up and watch the sunrise over the estuary in the morning. We saw a variety of beautiful birds, including egrets. One morning, we even spotted a dolphin!

We went out on the water twice- one day for trammel netting, and another day for trawling. Trammel netting is the process of releasing a long net out into the waters, then disturbing the water to startle the fish into the net. We then pulled the net back in and pulled the fish out to document and measure them. We pulled out a huge variety of aquatic creatures, such as Blue Crabs, flounders, seatrout, stingrays, and many more! Another day, we went trawling, which is when net is dragged along the bottom to pick up bottom-dwelling creatures. That day, we caught lots of shrimp, including one with a parasite, some flounder, a Tonguefish, and more Blue Crabs.  The entire time, we were being closely watched by a few Brown Pelicans, looking to grab any of our catch.

The first ecosystem we visited was a sandy beach, specifically Folly Beach. Partially public and partially a nature reserve, there were a surprising diversity of species that would be very easy to miss if you were not looking with a biological eye!  We collected shells and classified them by different species of Arks, a class of bivalves, and by predation. It was a beautifully warm and sunny day, so later in the afternoon, there were also a lot of ghost crabs running around! Most of the ghost crabs were smaller juveniles, but towards sun down, we saw some of the adults come out. They were surprisingly large! We also visited Edisto Beach, and on our last day there, we visited Harbor Island for a special birdwatching tour.

We did not have to travel far for the next ecosystem; it was just a quick trip down the dirt road from the field station to reach the salt marsh. The large marsh of cord grass floods with salt water from the estuary during high tide. While there were a few Fiddler Crabs and Purple Marsh Crabs, the Marsh Periwinkle were the real stars of the show!  Marsh Periwinkle are small snails that move up and down the Cord Grass as the tides move in and out. They make small holes in the grass and farm fungus to eat, but what is not eaten is great fertilizer for the grass! Although trekking through the marsh is a bit difficult and very messy, this year, only one person actually fell in!

Towards the end of our trip, we did get one free day in Charleston to explore the city. I chose to go with a few others to the Charleston Aquarium, which is a beautiful modern building right on the coast. Although it is much smaller than the Shedd Aquarium, there were a lot of incredible organisms. For example, we got to see Horseshoe Crabs, a huge Sand Tiger Shark, Lionfish, an octopus, even an albino alligator named Alabaster! They also run a bird sanctuary on the top floor and a renowned sea turtle hospital. We ended our day out in Charleston by all of us meeting up for dinner before heading back to the field station.

Our last ecosystem we visited was the mudflat at Coffin’s Point. It was after two days of working on our final projects, so it was nice to take a break from working on the experiments to spend a day mucking around under the sun. Because we arrived during low tide, we could walk out pretty far and explore the oyster reefs. We spent most of the time collecting hermit crabs.  Before we left, Dr. Sparkes demonstrated chemical signaling by showing how the periwinkle snails reoriented themselves and approached an injured oyster just by the chemicals released from an injury.

Overall, it was a whirlwind trip. We packed so much experience and opportunity into just ten days, you would not think it was even possible! It was exhausting. We were essentially in a full sprint for a marathon time scale. The weather was not always pretty. In fact, for the majority of the trip it was a chilly forty degrees and rainy. Yet despite all that, I do not regret any part of it. I have strengthened my biological instincts so much in such a short time by getting so much practice in designing field experiments. We all got along so well; we left as acquaintances and came back as great friends! I even surprised myself by being able to stick it through any of the exhaustion or discomfort to focus on the task at hand and get it done. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and a stepping stone for the future. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this class and for everything gained during the class.

 

All photos included in blog were taken by Wierzal, Senior.