Managing Editor 

 Katie Mosher 



Senior Editors 

 Ann Green 

 Pam Smith 



L. Noble 



Circulation Manager 

 Sandra Harris 



The North Carolina Sea Grant College 

 Program is a federal/state program that 

 promotes the wise use of our coastal and 

 marine resources through research, extension 

 and education. It joined the National Sea Grant 

 College Network in 1970 as an institutional 

 program. Six years later, it was designated a 

 Sea Grant College. Today, North Carolina Sea 

 Grant supports several research projects, 

 a 1 2-member extension program and a 

 communications staff. Ron Hodson is director. 

 The program is funded by the U.S. Department 

 of Commerce's National Oceanic and 

 Atmospheric Administration and the state 

 through the University of North Carolina. 

 Coastwatch (ISSN 1068-784X) 

 is published six times a year by the 

 North Carolina Sea Grant College Program, 

 North Carolina State University, Box 8605, 

 Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-8605. 

 Telephone: 919/515-2454. Fax: 919/515-7095. 

 Subscriptions are $15. 

 E-mail: kmosher@unity.ncsu.edu. 

 World Wide Web address: 

 http:llwww.ncsu.edu/seagrant 

 Periodical Postage paid at Raleigh, N.C. 



POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 

 Coastwatch, North Carolina Sea Grant, 

 North Carolina State University, Box 8605, 

 Raleigh, NC 27695-8605. 



North Carolina 



® 



COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



You've Got to Have Heart 



Rer 



^member 

 Wiilo, a dinosaur 

 featured in 'Take 

 a Walk on the 

 Wild Side" in the 

 spring edition of 

 Coastwatch? Well, 

 Willo has gone 

 on to interna- 

 tional acclaim 

 since scientists 

 have published 

 their findings: 

 Willo is the 

 world's first 



I J * Jim Page 



known dinosaur 



specimen with a fossilized heart! 



Scientists from North Carolina State University and the N.C. Museum of Natural 

 Sciences published the historic findings in the journal Science, just weeks after 

 Coastwatch went to press. Until the findings were published, Coastwatch could only hint 

 at the importance of the Thescelosaurus, a 66-million-year-old herbivore. 



According to Dale Russell, NC State paleontologist and the museum's senior 

 research curator, computer-enhanced images of Willo's heart suggest it is a four- 

 chamber, double-pump heart with a single systemic aorta — more like the heart of a 

 mammal or bird than a reptile. The findings suggest that the dinosaur's circulatory 

 system was more advanced than that of modern-day reptiles, and supports the 

 hypothesis that dinosaurs were warm-blooded, Russell says. 



Willo is about the size of a short-legged pony. He was discovered in 1 993 in South 

 Dakota and was acquired by the museum in 1 996. Since then, the fossil specimen has 

 undergone exhaustive, high-tech probes and analysis to unravel its biological mysteries. 



On permanent display in the new museum in Raleigh, Willo's grapefruit-sized, 

 reddish brown clump of a heart, is clearly visible within its partially exposed chest. 



Images of the fossil, a video and further information are available on the Web at 

 www.dinoheart.org, a site jointly maintained by the museum and the university. - P.S. 



In the Next Issue of Coastwatch 



How are coastal communities grappling with major water issues — 

 quality, quantity and wastewater disposal? Pam Smith will examine 

 the science and the politics of this critical environmental challenge. 

 The peak summer season keeps coastal fishing piers bustling with 

 first-time tourists and veteran anglers alike. Ann Green checks in on 

 several piers — and on the debate surrounding proposals for saltwater 

 fishing licenses. 



HIGH SEASON 2000 



