“The fact that their lineage is so ancient, and their biology differs so dramatically from humans makes them seem almost alien.” It’s a cycle that has existed each spring for millions of years: as dusk falls along the Delaware Bay, thousands of horseshoe crabs come ashore to lay their eggs, which then become food for migrating birds. Scientists are still working to fully understand the threads of this complex web, but on a night this past May they had help from College of Southern Maryland (CSM) students and faculty members, who traveled to Cape May, New Jersey to help tag the “living fossils” for scientific research. The trip was part of CSM’s travel study program, which gives students the opportunity to go beyond the classroom and put their education into action. According to CSM Dean of Learning Resources Dr. Stephanie McCaslin, this particular trip was a great opportunity for students to play a role in the “ecological domino effect” of environmental protection efforts while learning about the horseshoe crabs’ migratory patterns in ways that help conservationists understand the prehistoric species. “They were really making those connections and applications to everything they were learning at CSM, from environmental diversity to statistics,” […]
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