Our campus is situated on TampaBay, allowing us to access an extraordinary diversity of marine and estuarine species in a wide variety of coastal habitats including sea grass beds, sand flats, beaches and mangroves. This diversity of coastal habitats is easily accessible by our active fleet of vessels, which include three offshore powerboats, a beachcat with a working deck, and the US R/V Gilbert. The R/V Gilbert belongs to the US Geological Survey and is kept at Eckerd's waterfront as part of an ongoing co-op research program. The marine science research vessels are harbored at the campus waterfront area. Our subtropical climate allows us to employ field work and boat use in our classes year-round.