At the end of the Pitt Street Bridge in Mount Pleasant\u2019s Old Village, a fishing pier looks out across the spot where Charleston Harbor joins Cove Inlet. Beneath the pier, marsh grass waves in the breeze and fiddler crabs skitter across the pluff mud. The tide laps gently over the oyster beds. From above, a fisherman reels in a speckled trout, and nearby, a group of cadets huddles around biology assistant professor Clinton Moran, Ph.D., as he talks about estuary ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moran teaches the introduction to biology series to freshman biology majors. He also teaches some anatomy and physiology courses, but it\u2019s the marine biology classes that give cadets the best chance for field work. \u201cCharleston is a great place to teach marine biology,\u201d said Moran, \u201cbecause we go out, we sample at the Pitt Street Bridge, Sullivan\u2019s Island, or Folly Beach, and we explore the beach and go on a DNR research cruise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On a Department of Natural Resources cruise, they drag a trawl net behind the boat. Their catch might include blue crabs, shrimp or flounder. The next catch might bring in jellyfish or pipefish, and it guides the discussion. \u201cWhen we bring these organisms to the surface,\u201d said Moran, \u201cthe students see them face to face and we discuss how each one is adapted to fit perfectly into its environment.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At the end of the Pitt Street Bridge in Mount Pleasant\u2019s Old Village, a fishing pier looks out across the spot where Charleston Harbor joins Cove Inlet. Beneath the pier, marsh grass waves in the breeze and fiddler crabs skitter across the pluff mud. The tide laps gently over the oyster beds. From above, a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":694,"featured_media":954,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n