Prerequisite(s): Environmental Biology 1 or equivalent; instructor approval.

Marine ecosystems are among the most threatened on the globe, and thus there is a pressing need to develop and implement effective conservation and management measures. Moreover, because marine environments differ in their physics, chemistry and biology, conservation in the marine realm is fundamentally different than in terrestrial habitats. This course is intended to educate students – as members of our global society – as to the basic principles of marine biology that are necessary to understand the most pressing environmental problems affecting the marine sphere. We will do this through providing overviews of physical and biological processes central to understanding marine ecology, examining the impacts of human activities on these processes and on marine environments and communities, and considering potential actions to mitigate or lessen the effects of these activities.