At the end of the Pitt Street Bridge in Mount Pleasant鈥檚 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.
Moran teaches the introduction to biology series to freshman biology majors. He also teaches some anatomy and physiology courses, but it鈥檚 the marine biology classes that give cadets the best chance for field work. 鈥淐harleston is a great place to teach marine biology,鈥� said Moran, 鈥渂ecause we go out, we sample at the Pitt Street Bridge, Sullivan鈥檚 Island, or Folly Beach, and we explore the beach and go on a DNR research cruise.鈥�
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. 鈥淲hen we bring these organisms to the surface,鈥� said Moran, 鈥渢he students see them face to face and we discuss how each one is adapted to fit perfectly into its environment.鈥�