Carol Ruckdeschel

Last updated

Carol Ruckdeschel
Born (1941-12-03) December 3, 1941 (age 82)
Occupation(s)Biologist, naturalist, and environmental activist
Years active1971–present

Carol Ruckdeschel is a biologist, naturalist, environmental activist [1] and author. As a Cumberland Island resident, she was involved in the creation and preservation of Cumberland Island National Seashore. [2] [3] [4] She is the subject of the book Untamed: The Wildest Woman in America and the Fight for Cumberland Island by Will Harlan.

Contents

She has researched sea turtles [5] and endangered and extinct species around the Georgia coast. [6]

Her residence on the north part of Cumberland Island is currently owned by The National Park Service, on the condition of her remaining there until her death.

Books

Journal articles

Related Research Articles

Archibald Fairly Carr Jr. was an American herpetologist, ecologist, and conservationist. He was a Professor of Zoology at the University of Florida and an acclaimed writer on science and nature. He brought attention to the world's declining sea turtle populations due to over-exploitation and habitat loss. Wildlife refuges in Florida and Costa Rica have been named in his honor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumberland Island</span> Island in the U.S. state of Georgia

Cumberland Island, in the southeastern United States, is the largest of the Sea Islands of Georgia. The long-staple Sea Island cotton was first grown here by a local family, the Millers, who helped Eli Whitney develop the cotton gin. With its unusual range of wildlife, the island has been declared a National Seashore. Little Cumberland Island is connected to the main island by a marsh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumberland Island National Seashore</span> Protected area in Camden County, Georgia, US

Cumberland Island National Seashore preserves most of Cumberland Island in Camden County, Georgia, the largest of Georgia's Golden Isles. The seashore features beaches and dunes, marshes, and freshwater lakes. The national seashore also preserves and interprets many historic sites and structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loggerhead sea turtle</span> Species of marine reptile distributed throughout the world

The loggerhead sea turtle is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around 90 cm (35 in) in carapace length when fully grown. The adult loggerhead sea turtle weighs approximately 135 kg (298 lb), with the largest specimens weighing in at more than 450 kg (1,000 lb). The skin ranges from yellow to brown in color, and the shell is typically reddish brown. No external differences in sex are seen until the turtle becomes an adult, the most obvious difference being the adult males have thicker tails and shorter plastrons than the females.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kemp's ridley sea turtle</span> Species of sea turtle

Kemp's ridley sea turtle, also called the Atlantic ridley sea turtle, is the rarest species of sea turtle and is the world's most endangered species of sea turtle. It is one of two living species in the genus Lepidochelys. The species primarily occupies habitat around the Gulf of Mexico though their migrations into the Atlantic are being affected by rising temperatures. Kemp's ridley sea turtles are currently listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and current conservation efforts attempt to rebuild population numbers. Human activity, including but not limited to habitat destruction, climate change, and oil spills, threaten populations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green sea turtle</span> Species of large sea reptile

The green sea turtle, also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus Chelonia. Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but it is also found in the Indian Ocean. The common name refers to the usually green fat found beneath its carapace, due to its diet strictly being seagrass, not to the color of its carapace, which is olive to black.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine conservation</span> Protection and preservation of saltwater ecosystems

Marine conservation, also known as ocean conservation, is the protection and preservation of ecosystems in oceans and seas through planned management in order to prevent the over-exploitation of these marine resources. Marine conservation is informed by the study of marine plants and animal resources and ecosystem functions and is driven by response to the manifested negative effects seen in the environment such as species loss, habitat degradation and changes in ecosystem functions and focuses on limiting human-caused damage to marine ecosystems, restoring damaged marine ecosystems, and preserving vulnerable species and ecosystems of the marine life. Marine conservation is a relatively new discipline which has developed as a response to biological issues such as extinction and marine habitats change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eugenie Clark</span> American ichthyologist, shark researcher and scientific scuba diver

Eugenie Clark, popularly known as The Shark Lady, was an American ichthyologist known for both her research on shark behavior and her study of fish in the order Tetraodontiformes. Clark was a pioneer in the field of scuba diving for research purposes. In addition to being regarded as an authority in marine biology, Clark was popularly recognized and used her fame to promote marine conservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawksbill sea turtle</span> Species of reptile

The hawksbill sea turtle is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus Eretmochelys. The species has a global distribution that is largely limited to tropical and subtropical marine and estuary ecosystems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumberland Island horse</span> American breed of horse

The Cumberland Island horses are a band of feral horses living on Cumberland Island in the state of Georgia. Popular myth holds that horses arrived on the island sometime in the 16th century with the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. However, it is unlikely that any horses left by the Spanish survived, and more likely the current population descends from horses brought to the island in the 18th century by the English. Cumberland Island became part of the Cumberland Island National Seashore in 1972 when the National Park Service (NPS) took over its management. These horses are similar to the bands of horses living on the islands of Chincoteague and Assateague. There is estimated to be a population of between 150 and 200 horses on the island. Horses on Cumberland Island have a relatively short life expectancy, due to pest infestations, disease and their rugged environment. In 2000 a behavioral study found that instability marks the bands, with large numbers of co-dominant stallions, early dispersal of juveniles, and frequent band-changing among mares.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maude Delap</span> Irish marine biologist

Maude Jane Delap was a self-taught marine biologist, known for being the first person to breed jellyfish in captivity, and thus observed their full life cycle for the first time. She was also involved in extensive study of plankton from the coasts of Valentia Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory</span>

Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory (GSML) is an independent not-for-profit marine research and education organization and public aquarium in Panacea, Florida, United States.

Linda Armstrong is an American artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucy Carnegie Ferguson</span>

Lucy Carnegie Ricketson Ferguson was a member of the American industrialist Carnegie family who spent much of her life working to conserve Cumberland Island, the largest part of which was declared a national seashore in 1972. A granddaughter of Thomas Carnegie, her family once owned 90 percent of the island.


Elizabeth Carrington Pope was a New Zealand-born zoologist and marine biologist. She was born in Nelson in 1912, and migrated to Bellevue Hill, Australia with her family that same year. Pope was curator of worms and echinoderms at the Australian Museum, and was deputy director of the museum for one year before her retirement in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christine Figgener</span> Marine Biologist

Christine Figgener is a German marine conservation biologist, author, science communicator, and ocean advocate recognized for her work in sea turtle conservation, the fight against plastic pollution, and the empowerment of women in STEM. She is best known for documenting the removal of a plastic straw from a sea turtle's nose in a YouTube video that went viral in 2015. This video, which was featured in popular media outlets such as National Geographic, HuffPost, The New York Times, ABC News, and CNN, highlighted the dangers of plastic pollution on marine wildlife and was a catalyst for the global anti-straw movement that led to several straw bans by businesses such as Starbucks, Disney, and Alaska Airlines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sea Turtle, Inc.</span> Sea turtle rescue organization

Sea Turtle, Inc. is a nonprofit sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation center in South Padre Island, Texas. It is a popular regional ecotourism center, seeing about a quarter million visitors per year. Its mission is to rescue, rehabilitate, and release sick and injured sea turtles; to educate the public about sea turtles and marine conservation; and to help conserve all sea turtle species, particularly those native to the Gulf of Mexico.

Carol Anne Blanchette is research biologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara who is known for her work on marine intertidal zones and the biomechanics of marine organisms.

References

  1. McPhee, John (April 28, 1973). "Travels in Georgia". The New Yorker . Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  2. Dilsaver, Lary M. (2004). Cumberland Island National Seashore: A History of Conservation Conflict. University of Virginia Press. pp. 128–. ISBN   9780813922683 . Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  3. Harlan, Will (2014). Untamed: the wildest woman in America and the fight for Cumberland Island (First ed.). New York: Grove Press. ISBN   9780802122582.
  4. Blqackmun, Susie (June 9, 1991). "The Naturalist For 16 Hours A Day, Seven Days A Week, Biologist Carol Ruckdeschel Lives Breathes, Studies And Defends A Tiny Barrier Island Just Over The Florida Border. It's Not Just A Job, It's A Way Of Life That She Has Followed For Nearly 20 Years" . Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  5. Sea Turtles of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States. Carol Ruckdeschel. 2006
  6. "History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places – Smithsonian". Smithsonianmag.com. Retrieved November 26, 2014.