Four Weeks. Turtles, Rays, Reef Fish.
Sea turtles graze the seagrass. Eagle rays glide across the sand flats like slow-motion kites. Every side of this island holds different water: seagrass meadows, sand flats dotted with starfish, reef walls cut by channels. The animals that define tropical Atlantic waters are all here, and for four weeks, so are you.
You'll identify species in the water, survey coral and fish biodiversity from snorkel and SCUBA, join an in-water sea turtle work-up demonstration, and study how marine fauna populations respond to fishing pressure, habitat loss, and a warming Atlantic.
What You'll Do
Sea Turtle Capture & Tagging
Join an in-water demonstration of sea turtle capture, work-up, and tagging, learning how green and hawksbill turtles are studied on South Caicos reefs.
In-Water Species Identification
Learn to recognize the turtles, rays, and reef fish of the tropical Atlantic on every swim, building the ID skills that anchor each survey.
Reef Fish Community Assessments
Use standardized visual census along transects to survey coral and fish biodiversity at reef sites across a range of depths.
Field Sites
Research sites span the island's sand flats and shallows, turtle foraging grounds, and the reefs of the Eastern Caicos Bank.
South Caicos Sand Flats & Shallows
Shallow sandy banks dotted with starfish, where in-water identification and survey practice begin.
Turtle Foraging Grounds
Seagrass meadows where green and hawksbill turtles feed, monitored by SFS students.
Eastern Caicos Bank
Reef sites at a range of depths, surveyed for coral and fish by snorkel and SCUBA.
Sea Turtles in the Grass. Rays Over the Sand Flats.
Hawksbill turtles graze the seagrass. Eagle rays cruise the shallows. The fauna of the tropical Atlantic are all here, and students meet them where they live: running coral and fish biodiversity transects across the depths of the eastern Caicos Bank, practicing species identification on every swim, and joining an in-water demonstration of how researchers capture, measure, and tag sea turtles. Each side of the island offers its own survey ground, from seagrass meadows to starfish-dotted sand flats to the reefs and cuts beyond. Four weeks focused on the animals that define these waters, and how fishing pressure, habitat loss, and a warming ocean are reshaping their populations.
Marine Animal Ecology in Action
This 4-credit course covers marine vertebrate ecology, animal behavior, and conservation biology through fieldwork in tropical waters. You'll spend the majority of your time in the water, building species identification skills and contributing data to SFS's ongoing marine fauna monitoring program.
Course
1 course · 4 credits · 4 weeks
Covers organisms that play critical roles in marine ecosystems, studying their ecology, behavior, and conservation in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
View Syllabus (PDF)Study Marine Life This Summer
Now enrolling for Summer 2027.
Dates & Costs
4 weeks, 4 credits. Financial aid and SFS scholarships available.
