Thiel College environmental science student presenting sea turtle research at Rice symposium

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Thiel College senior Katherine Aaron ’24 will present the result of her summer research project surveying sea turtle nests at the Gulf Coast Undergraduate Research Symposium at Rice University on Oct. 21.

Her research presentation, “Nest Architecture of Loggerhead Sea Turtles in Hammock’s Beach State Park,” is the result her participation in a research experience for undergraduate students collaboration with Duke University. Aaron, of Lehighton, Pa., is an environmental science major and wildlife biology minor and a 2020 graduate of Lehighton Area High School.

She worked at Duke University’s marine lab, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. In her work, she tagged and took measurements of the turtles, mostly Loggerheads, and relocated their nests if it was necessary. On the relocated nests, she would take nest architecture castings, which she later used to collect data on the nest cavity’s overall volume and estimated incubation chamber volume. She created a map of Bear Island using the online geographic information system software, ArcGIS, for the years 2010-2023 with the 2023 data points, including photos which she hopes will continue to be updated to help understand the changes in the island’s geography. She completed the work with the guidance of Head Sea Turtle Biologist of North Carolina and adjunct professor at Duke University Marine Lab Matthew Godfrey, Ph.D.

NOTE: Turtle permit #23ST24 for turtle photographs.

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