Semester @ CMAST Final Projects

On May 5, we bid our Semester @ CMAST students a fond farewell. Before they left, however, came the really special part of their stay with us: Their final presentations for projects they completed while at CMAST. Following is a summary of the work that was done. The presentations were Powerpoints, videos, and speeches, followed by question and answer sessions from the audience.

The presentations were followed by an unveiling of “Josie,” the re-articulated bottlenose dolphin skeleton completed with the help of the Semester @ CMAST students, now hanging in the CMAST lobby.

The projects presented were as follows:

“Stewardship and research on the Rachel Carson Reserve: Water quality, horse monitoring, and site management” by Kat Jones and Emily McGuirt.  Advisors: B. Puckett and P. Gillikin

“Survey of light sources and their potential impacts on sea turtle hatchlings on Atlantic Beach, North Carolina”  by Nick Mantia and Laura Blessing. Advisor: M. Godfrey

“Comparison of stomach contents from stranded bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in North Carolina” by Maureen Goretti and Kate Sakowski.  Advisor: V. Thayer

“Assessing ecosystem services of shellfish aquaculture: fish and crustaceans” by Cody Winkler and Brooke Blosser. Advisor: D. Eggleston

“Surveying the wild horses of Shackleford Banks using line transects,” by Brittany Carson. Advisor: S. Stuska

“Testing ecological paradigms in a marine fouling community” by David Harwood. Advisor: D. Eggleston

“Temporal variation in larval influx through the Beaufort Inlet” by Justin Harker and Jesse Vassos.  Advisor: D. Eggleston

“Remotely Operated Vehicles and a reflection on educational outreach” by Abby Frankenfeld.  Advisor: P. Curley

“Blood gas level comparisons in black sea bass (Centropristus striata)” by Claire Pelletier.  Advisor: C. Harms and J. Buckel

“Traditions gone but not forgotten” by Sicely Sohn.  Advisors: B. Nash and P. Curley.