Heidi Lynn Sculthorpe Scholars: Getting Out of Their Shells and Into the Field On a sunny July morning, Assistant Professor Sean Sterrett and students Angel Ireland and Sara Grouleff waded into the waters of Long Branch’s Takanassee Lake and checked a group of nets stationed around its perimeter. Time after time, they emerged holding red-eared slider turtles—a common pet species that is not native to New Jersey. “It’s a species that people get when they’re teeny-tiny, and then they outgrow their aquarium and get stinky,” Sterrett said. “Then people try to figure out what to do with this turtle, and they think the best thing to do is drop it in a lake.” Over the years a fully functional population of red-eared sliders bloomed in the lake, to the point where they may now be the system’s most common species. This was one of the findings from the team’s research on how turtle populations survive and adapt in lake environments within densely populated areas. The project that was supported through the UCI’s Heidi Lynn Sculthorpe Summer Research Program.
About the Program The program offers students (Heidi Lynn Sculthorpe Scholars) access to grant funding to carry out projects of their own design under the guidance of faculty mentors. Each year, the program supports several hands-on research projects that provide real world experience to students while helping make a positive impact in coastal communities. The UCI thanks the many individual and corporate donors whose support made this work possible.
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//URBAN COAST INSTITUTE
