Undergraduate Course: Living Oceans

I designed this course to introduce students to the exciting field of marine biology.  A class like this provides incredible opportunities to cover a wide range of topics from the geology of ocean basins and water chemistry to the mind-boggling diversity of marine organisms.  A major emphasis of the course is to include current and emerging issues related to the oceans and marine life, such as marine pollution, sustainable seafood, offshore drilling, climate change, and marine technology.  Students attended lectures, discussion/lab sections, and field trips to cach a glimpse of how we study the ocean and marine life, what we know, and what we still have to learn.   In order to understand the complexity of marine organisms and ecosystems, a foundation of basic biological concepts was reviewed and expanded upon.

Curriculum

See the full syllabus:  EE Biol 25 syllabus 2012.doc (75,5 kB)

View sample lecture slides: lecture15slides.pdf (1,4 MB)

Field trips included a guided tour of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, a behind-the-scenes tour of the Aquarium of the Pacific, a tidepooling excursion, assisting with the education program at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, and/or a trip to the LA County Museum of Natural History with a peek behind the scenes.  The tidepool trip was the most popular, even though it took place on Super Bowl Sunday!