About the Project:

Brown Pelicans are amazing at catching fish, but they will also eat discards from people fishing at piers. Each time a pelican visits a fishing pier it risks being entangled in fishing line. Join a research team that is trying to better understand what attracts pelicans and other wading birds to fishing piers and how to decrease their chance of being injured. Students will conduct surveys for pelicans and other wading birds on campus and will also record the behavior of people fishing.

The First-Year Research Associate Program at Eckerd College honors academically outstanding students with awards of up to $1,000. The program also provides the opportunity, during the freshman year, for the award winners to work closely with a sponsor (faculty or administrative personnel) on a project of mutual interest. Associates might assist with research for faculty publication or new courses, conduct scientific experiments, work with creative artists, or develop projects related to any phase of the academic, cultural, and social life of the college. Scholars are selected on the basis of achievement in high school and on the creativity and depth of responses to items on this application.​

Online submission due no later than February 1, 2020.