Tools for Transformation

Funded Proposals

Marine Biology Honors Series

Ocean & Fishery Sciences and Undergraduate Education

The Pacific is our largest ocean, the cradle of marine diversity, and the source of most of the world's seafood. At the edge of the Pacific, the University of Washington is the pre-eminent teaching and research institution in the Pacific Northwest, with many departments, programs, schools, and colleges devoted, in whole or in part, to the study of marine systems.

Three new courses in Marine Biology will be offered beginning in the 2001-2002 academic year. Each course will explore physical, biological, and social dimensions of the marine realm. All courses will expose students to the sea in lectures, laboratories, and field excursions. While the Fall quarter will be open to all students (with a separate honors section), the Winter and Spring quarters will be honors only. Students will receive a broad overview in the Fall, delve into the physical-biological linkages that define marine organisms and their communities in the Winter, and experience the marine environment firsthand in the Spring.

Fall Quarter: Marine Biology FISH/OCEAN 250
Blending descriptive marine biology with field trips; readings from the Web, primary literature, and newspaper clippings; and discussion, the goal of the Fall quarter class will be to define the place of marine biology and ocean research within socioeconomic drivers such as the need for and success of current aquatic natural resource management programs. Labs for this course will include one mandatory field trip, active teaming, computer analysis of existing data sets, and guest-speaker led examination of specific ethical and scientific issues in Pacific Northwest marine biology. Enrollment 125, Honors section available.

Winter Quarter: Scale and Process in Marine Biology FISH/OCEAN 350
Questions raised during the Fall quarter will be examined in light of the linkages between physical, chemical, and biological interactions in the marine environment existing across a broad range of spatial and temporal scales. How are marine organisms structured? What are the interactions between organisms and their environment? What forces do organisms influence, and what forces influence the success of an organism? Organisms, populations, and ecosystems will be constructed internally to externally investigating each aspect of existence from biomechanics through systems ecology to the physical-chemical nature of habitats and basin-scale environments. Labs for this class could include wet chemistry, mesocosm studies, and computer modeling of population dynamics and organism-habitat interactions. Enrollment 25, open to University and COFS honors students.

Spring Quarter: Field Investigations in Marine Biology FISH/OCEAN 351
A single case, centered on a large marine organism found in the Pacific Northwest, is studied throughout the quarter using a combination of field and computer investigations linked to class discussion. Students will enter the field under a variety of settings (trips to Friday Harbor Laboratories, or Big Beef Creek, research and observation aboard research vessels) and complement direct observation of organisms in their natural habitat with computer analysis of existing data (e.g., satellite-derived tracking records; water properties data from moorings or ships; hydroacoustic data) and policy examination (interviews with local agency or non-governmental personnel; attendance at a public hearing). The class will be divided into teams of 2 to 3 students, each approaching the case study from a different aspect of Marine Biology presented in the previous two quarters (e.g., physical or chemical oceanography, ethics, management, ecology, economics, or policy). Students will be asked to present and interpret their team results to the class in the context of their approach as well as integrating across all approaches. Enrollment 25, open to University and COFS honors student,-prerequisites: Scale and Process in Marine Biology.

Tools for Transformation Funded Proposals

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provost@u.washington.edu
Modified: May 2, 2001