She trudges through the brush and along the edge of Kiawah Island’s marshes almost every day, holding a large metal antennae in the air and listening for the beeps to grow louder from the tracking machine belted to her waist.

If they do, College of Charleston graduate student Sarah Latshaw knows she’s getting closer to a painted bunting she previously equipped with a “mini-backpack” tracking device.

A student in the Master of Environmental Studies program, Latshaw recently landed a prestigious National Science Foundation fellowship to continue her studies of the brightly colored birds that are on the National Audubon Society’s watch list. She’s tracking them to learn about the kind of habitats they prefer. She thinks that when her research is complete, she’ll be able to recommend to homeowners how to best landscape their yards to encourage the birds to nest in them.

“The buntings like the areas people like,” Latshaw said. “They’re attracted to the barrier islands.”

But that’s a disadvantage for them as the population on the islands swells, she said.

Citadel biology professor Paul Nolan is Latshaw’s research advisor. Citadel biology professors often advise graduate-student research at the College of Charleston, he said, because graduate-level research in biology is limited at the military college.

Nolan, who studies bird and other animal behavior, said that the number of painted buntings has been declining since the mid-1960s. He thinks that’s probably because of increased development on the east coast, which eliminates places the birds are likely to nest. He also said many of the birds are captured and sold as pets, especially in Mexico where many painted buntings spend the winter. Little research has been done on painted buntings and their habitats, he said. So he was excited to advise Latshaw on her research.

Latshaw said that along the South Carolina coast, the birds nest and have their young from early April to September or October. They spend the winter in Mexico and Cuba.

She will catch about 15 to 20 birds over the summer and attach tiny tracking devices to their backs. The devices are attached with a biodegradable type of thread, she said. She will remove them from the birds once she is done tracking them. But if she’s unable to find a bird, the thread will decay naturally and the bird will be free of the device.

Each day, Latshaw or her technician Will Lemon track the birds with the large metal antennae. When they find one, they mark the spot. Then they note the type of vegetation around and above the spot where the bird was perched.

So far, she said, the birds seem to like vacant lots adjacent to developed lots. She also often finds them along the edge of the woods where it meets the marsh, she said. But those are simply early observations and she doesn’t know what she’ll ultimately find in her research, she said.

After the tracking phase of her research, Latshaw will analyze her data, then decide on her next steps.

As a fellow, she will receive a three-year annual stipend of $30,000 along with a $10,500 cost-of-education allowance for tuition and fees, a one-time $1,000 travel allowance and the freedom to conduct their own research.

She said she doesn’t think she would have landed the award had she not done previous research and pilot studies on painted buntings, work that was paid for by the Kiawah Conservancy.

Jim Chitwood, chairman of the conservancy’s environmental science committee, said the group tries to preserve some vacant land on the island and promote environmentally sound development practices.

Most people on Kiawah are going to landscape their yards, he said. Latshaw’s research will help them do it in a way that encourages buntings to nest. “We want to understand what we need under the trees,” he said. “And it’s just really fun to understand what makes them tick.”

Related posts
Sarah Latshaw is awarded an NSF Fellowship
Nationally Competitive Award Recipients
Update from Australia

MES candidate, Bree Tomlinson, is still chipping away on her thesis.  If you’re curious what it’s like to write a thesis for a master’s degree, here’s a look into her mind:

June is well under way, and my mind is consumed by my thesis project (I am slowly making my way through the final/written stage).  Every day I wake up and ask myself, “What am I doing for my thesis today?”  I know, I know.  It’s not quite as poignant as JFK’s  “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country?”  but at this point in “the game” they feel equally as important!

I have constant reminders of tasks that have not been completed, and “to-do” lists left without checks.  But if that wasn’t enough, I see “my” birds – the birds I am studying – EVERYWHERE!  I am convinced they are following me around the Lowcountry.  I see them while I am driving to the grocery store. I see them flying over my house usually while I am in the backyard (reading smutty magazines). And I see them while walking to the bus stop.  Not sure if these fly-bys are coincidental (after all it is their breeding season and they are constantly searching for food…oh my mind never stops), but all I know is that I am excited for the day when I see my Storks and think “OOH LOOK, my bird friends from the thesis I just completed!!!”

Thankfully, I am nearing the end of my project and can almost see the light at the end of my graduate tunnel!

Other posts you might find interesting:
Why she chose South Carolina over Michigan
Wherever you go, go with all your heart

Each scholarship covers housing, travel to Seattle, Washington, and tuition for 3 modules of the statistical genetics program.  Twenty modules are offered, all of which are taught by leading professionals in the industry.  The Institute, which runs fromJune 15 – July 1, consists of a series of two-and-a-half day workshops designed to introduce geneticists to modern methods of statistical analysis and to introduce statisticians to the statistical challenged posed by modern genetic data.

Congratulations Chris and Tessa!

If I could give a standing ovation online, I would!  Sarah Latshaw certainly deserves every bit of celebration for being awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship!

Since 1952, The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded 43,000 Graduate Research Fellowships out of more than 500,000 applicants.  That’s only 8.6%!  More than 20 Fellows have gone to become Nobel Laureates, and include Google Founder Sergey Brin and Freakonomics co-author Steven Levitt.

Fellows receive a three-year annual stipend of $30,000 along with a $10,500 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees, a one-time $1,000 travel allowance, and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited US or foreign institution of graduate education they choose.  As one Fellow states, “I don’t have to rely on anyone else’s funding but my own.”

As a student in the Master of Environmental Studies program, Sarah’s research topic is “Restoration of Maritime Habitats on the Barrier Island Using The Painted Bunting (Passerina Ciris) as a Flagship Species”.  Her adviser, Paul Nolan, is a College of Charleston adjunct professor, and a professor at The Citadel.

So what has Sarah done other than join the ranks of prestigious NSF Fellows?

Sarah and a Painted Bunting

I have a strong background in the fields of wildlife biology and environmental education. In 2002, I received a degree in Wildlife Biology from the Warnell School of Forest Resources at the University of Georgia.  After graduation, I’ve had the opportunity to develop my teaching skills as an informal educator.  After completing my undergraduate degree, I served as an Education Program Specialist for the Newton County (GA) 4-H program, conducting 4-H club meetings focusing on environmental education and healthy lifestyles.  Currently, I am working as a Naturalist on Kiawah Island, as well as conducting original research under the supervision of Dr. Paul Nolan.  My duties as  Naturalist include leading a wide range of ecological tours, caring for the Nature Center wildlife, scheduling school group field trips, and creating a nature-based monthly newsletter for our Nature Program.

Again, we congratulate Sarah for her accomplishment, and wish her well in her research!

Three alumni explain how their education benefits their career

College of Charleston’s Master of Science in Environmental Studies was one of the first interdisciplinary programs to examine the role of public policy in environmental decision making.  Stephen Schabel, JR., Megan Barks and Ben Leigh explain how their unique education has prepared them to change and improve the world around them. As Leigh states in the article, “you have to consider human impact, be aware of the law and economics, and understand the process that leads to real change.”

Read more here.

Bree counting Wood Stork chicks in their nests

Bree Tomlinson, an Environmental Studies student, and I were talking last week about December, snow and how drastically different Charleston is than our hometowns.  Both of us come from areas where this is a typical Saturday chore.  If you dealt with that for 20 some-odd years, you’d want to get as south as fast as possible, too!  Read Bree’s defining moment of clarity:

There is nothing better than a brutally cold Midwestern winter to clear your mind and outline your priorities. Before coming to Charleston, I had experienced 22 windy, snowy, truly freezing winters and I had “had” enough! I remember the exact moment when I decided that if I ever had a chance I was heading south! It was my senior year at Michigan State University and I was silently cursing my painful walk through campus. Well, more accurately, I was powering my way through knee-high snow drifts on my way to a final. I don’t think the campus administration understood that just because you plow a path at 6AM DOESN’T mean that it stays that way when it is snowing an inch an hour! So, there I was – cold, wet and VERY uncomfortable! I finally got to my exam after what seemed like years out in the tundra, with pants that were soaked to a point well above the knee. I always thought wet jeans were uncomfortable, but I didn’t fully appreciate the capabilities of a wet jean until I felt COLD, freezing cold, wet jeans! And further, I really should have listened to my mother and brought my snow pants with me to school. Who knew she was so smart and that I would need to prepare for the arctic tundra in Michigan!? So, as I sat in my seat – so very cold and still silently cursing my situation – I decided I wanted to be a snow bird, but maybe a permanent one.

So, when I decided to head back to graduate school, my mind was already made. I was going to try my hand at the south where they applied the word “freezing” to anything below 60 (not literally freezing!) I came to Charleston in 2005 to get my Master’s Degree in Environmental Studies, and haven’t looked back. I absolutely love this city, this college, and my brilliant decision! J I love that I am able to walk on the beach in December, and that outdoor activities are not limited to March through October. I no longer tramp to class in knee-high snow drifts, and the only time I have to cope with the wintry weather is during the holiday season. And then, it is expected and welcome (I still dream of a white Christmas). I don’t mean to give the impression that the only reason why I fled the north (with the retiree’s) is for the weather, but for this Michigander, it was a huge plus…the icing on the cake. I found a program that fit my needs, a town that fits my likes, and weather that keeps me sane!!!

One of the topics we covered is January’s Graduate Student Research Poster Session.  This morning’s list of participants included 23 students from six programs and the titles are super exciting!  See more after the jump.

Communication

Bryn Burkard: Examining Communication Messages and Weight Loss: Politeness Theory and the Concept of Face

Carrie Busch: Charleston’s Museum Mile: An Analysis of Organizational Collaboration

Anna-Fiona Cooke: Text and Instant Messaging in the Workplace and Its Effects on Management

Kurtis Miller: The Speech Act of Complaining: Preliminary Quantitative Research

English

Jennifer Burgess: Adjunct Anxiety: The position of Part-Time Composition Instructors at the College of Charleston

Environmental Studies

Guinn Garrett: Application of Geochemical End-Member Mixing Analysis to Delineate Water Sources in a Lowland Watershed

Tyler Lawson: Habitat Effects on Chytridiomycosis Infection in the Critically Endangered Agalychnis moreletti

Jennifer Scales: Variation in Territorial Aggression in Relation to Environmental Impacts

Kelly Sloan: The Effectiveness of Multilevel Modeling in Analyzing Sea Turtle Nesting Trends

History

Rachel Allen: A Violent Redemption: Charleston’s Own Civil War in the Gubernatorial Election of 1876

Hillary Lentz: The King of England’s Sickness: A Description of the English Sweat and an Analytical Discussion of its Origin and Treatment during the REign of Three Tudor Monarchs

Angela Dembiczak: The Axe, the Noose and the Fire: What Forms of Execution during the English Peasants’ Uprising of 1381

Kate Jenkins: School Desegregation in Charlesotn County

Neal Polhemus: Natural Disasters and Disastrous Politics: Rebuilding Charleston’s Fortifications 1752-1756

Marine Biology

Jesse Alderson: Distributions of Injured Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta caretta) in the Southeastern United States: A 9-Year Regional Study

Jennifer Fountain: Monroe saxatilis, Release Strategies and Improve Hatchery Contribution

Megan Kent: Relative Contributions of Taxanomic Groups Within Microbial Biofloc Communities to the Growth of Litopenaues vannamei When Provided as Dietary Supplements

Allie Kreutzer: The Role of Crab Traps in Oyster Reef Restoration

Steven O’Connell: Perfluorinated Contaminant Concentrations in Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta caretta): Expanded Spatial and Temporal Trends along the East Coast of the United STates

Katie Olds: TBA

Kolo Rathburn: Transcriptional Profile of the Penaeid Shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei to Hypoxia and Hypercapnic Hypoxia

Drew Wham: TBA

Science and Mathematics for Teachers

Sadie Fox: Robotics Curriculum for CE Williams Middle School for Creative and Scientific Arts.

Runners from the '05 race

The Master of Environmental Studies Student Association at College of Charleston is accepting applications for its 8th Annual 8K for H20 at Folly Beach.  The race, scheduled for February 21, 2009, supports a local non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and improving water quality.

While registrants who submit their form by January 15 will receive a free t-shirt, MESSA will accept walk-up registrants on the day of the race.  For more information, contact Sarah Mooney at 410.703.4916.