The principal objective of this course is to provide students with an introduction to marine life and the ocean environment.  It is a great course for anybody with an interest in the ocean who has had Biology I (BI 107).  This course is the prerequisite course for the BUMP Marine Semester, and a required course for Marine Science concentrators. The course begins by covering the basics of physical oceanography.  This provides the context within which the ecology, evolution, behavior, conservation and management of marine organisms are considered. The course is aimed at sophomores in Biology and Marine Science, as well as other students interested in the relationship that humans have with the sea.

Evaluation year = 2014, Overall course rating = 4.3, Overall instructor rating = 4.5

Evaluation year = 2013, Overall course rating = 3.9, Overall instructor rating = 4.0

Evaluation year = 2012, Overall course rating = 3.9, Overall instructor rating = 4.0

Evaluation year = 2011, Overall course rating = 3.9, Overall instructor rating = 3.9

The principal objective of this course is to provide a semi-formal environment in which students can present research ideas, preliminary data, and research in progress to all members of the Ecology, Behavior, Evolution and Marine Biology Community. The intended functions of the course are: i) to have students think about how to present their ideas and data to a broader audience; ii) to have students think about about and constructively critique ideas and data from all areas of EBE and MB; and iii) to promote exchange of ideas and the potential for collaboration between labs. All graduate students are encouraged to attend and participate regularly, and present once per year.  The course complements BI 671 and is considered a fundamental part of the graduate experience in the Department.

Evaluation year = 2013, Overall course rating = 5.0, Overall instructor rating = 5.0

Evaluation year = 2012, Overall course rating = 4.8, Overall instructor rating = 5.0

The principal objective of this course is to introduce graduate students to current faculty and research in Ecology, Behavior, Evolution and Marine Biology. Students and faculty will be able to share expertise and establish collaborations, helping the Department to leverage its most important asset: intellectual capital. In addition, students will gain experience in grant writing by writing an NSF grant proposal, either a GRFP or DDIG, appropriate to their standing. This course serves a unique role in these areas of the Department of Biology.

Evaluation year = 2014, Overall course rating = 4.6, Overall instructor rating = 4.9

Evaluation year = 2012, Overall course rating = 5.0, Overall instructor rating = 5.0

Understanding the patterns of larval dispersal is a major goal of marine ecology. These patterns determine the probability of larval exchange, or connectivity, among populations. Population connectivity, in turn, has major consequences for all aspects of an organism’s biology, from individual behavior to metapopulation dynamics and from evolution within metapopulations to the origin and extinction of species. Further, understanding patterns of dispersal is critical for the design of effective networks of marine reserves and the development of sustainable fisheries. In the last decade our concept of the spatial scale at which marine populations are connected has changed by one or two orders of magnitude. The objective of this course is to understand how this paradigm shift has occurred and its implications for our understanding of marine ecology, evolution and conservation.

Coming to a lecture hall near you in the fall of 2016.