CAS BI 547 (BUMP) Course description:

This course examines the diversity of marine animals. We focus on major evolutionary innovations that occurred during animal evolution and contemporary ecological processes that shape coastal marine communities. Topics include major features of body plans (multicellularity, symmetry, paired appendages, etc.), reproductive strategies (sex, asexual propagation, regeneration, etc.), trophic strategies (infaunal filter feeders, pelagic predators, parasites), and the responses of marine animals to environmental stress.

In the laboratory portion of the course, students will conduct original research into the ecology and evolution of two close related sea anemones. (1) The starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, is a denizen of estuarine pools. Students working on “Stella” will be focusing on how this animal makes a living in the harsh and rapidly changing environment of a coastal salt marsh, and whether different genetic strains of the anemone are differentially adapted to stress. (2) The lined sea anemone, Edwardsiella lineata, is closely related to Nematostella, but it lives in coastal marine habitats, and it has recently evolved into a parasite. Research on “Ed” will focus on key elements of the relationship between the parasite and its comb-jelly host such as the fitness consequences of infection for the host and the mode of parasite transmission.

Depending on the particular question(s) you are addressing, your research may include field work at local coastal habitats, controlled laboratory studies on whole organisms, molecular biology, and/or genomics. In past years, publication-quality original data has been generated, and students have contributed as co-authors on manuscripts that report findings from the class.