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This course is a 2 week, 3 credit, field intensive marine-based introduction to the scientific method and experimental biology. We take advantage of the unique learning opportunities in the intertidal zone around Appledore Island, Maine at the Shoals Marine Laboratory. The course philosophy is to allow students to learn the scientific method by doing research under the guidance of veteran marine biologists. The course is structured around two research projects that are designed to expose students to diverse research areas within marine biology: Ecomechanics and Ecophysiology. This course is suitable for life sciences majors.

This course provides an introduction to ecology, covering interactions between marine organisms and the environment at scales of populations, communities, and ecosystems. This course is suitable for life sciences majors.

This course focuses on issues in environmental science from a marine perspective. Basic scientific research methods, equipment, and group research projects are introduced. Laboratory exercises and fieldwork include work on Appledore Island’s intertidal zone and offshore oceanographic sampling exercises.

This course is aimed at high school students. Our main objective is to cover the current state of knowledge of elasmobranch (shark, skate & ray) biology and explore areas for future research and conservation initiatives. This includes separating fact from fiction, analyzing various types of media including peer reviewed scientific literature, and exploring experimental methods in both laboratory and field settings for studying elasmobranchs and other marine life.

This class focuses on patterns of biodiversity and processes of evolution. Topics include the diversity of life, the fossil record, macroevolutionary patterns, the genetics and developmental basis of evolutionary change, processes at the population level, evolution by natural selection, modes of speciation, long-term trends in evolution, and human evolution. This course is suitable for life sciences majors.

In this course, students build a foundation of skills needed for biological illustration using the many visual opportunities that Appledore Island offers for natural science subjects. Lectures and demos introduce each of five projects using a variety of media including graphite and graphite dust, pen & ink, watercolor, and colored pencil. Basic standards needed in the creation of professional work are covered, include observational drawing, attention to detail and accuracy, composition, color, tonal values, and perspective. The class will visit many locations on the island for inspiration and visual reference. Students will create a final project demonstrating skills they have developed with one of the media covered in the course.

This course introduces students to basic data analysis and programming tools commonly used throughout the life sciences. Students will develop skills in R programming, including data wrangling and cleaning, the principles of open and reproducible science, building maps, and simple linear regression. In the first half of the course (on-line), students will learn R fundamentals and then, in the second half, relocate to Shoals Marine Lab (Gulf of Maine; in-person) to apply their coding skills to long-term data sets (intertidal counts, video fisheries observations, marine mammal censuses), as well as to biological data that they collect in the field around Appledore Island.

Students will gain hands-on experience in bioacoustic research, including; concepts behind animals' sound production and hearing mechanisms, skills for deploying acoustic sensors, and data analysis. Lectures cover concepts in acoustics, soundscapes, and digital sound signal processing. Students will deploy acoustic sensors and conduct field experiments, then analyze collected data in computer-lab sessions. Focus is on Passive Acoustic Monitoring, the non-invasive recording of sounds in an environment (soundscapes) with microphones (land) or hydrophones (underwater). Terrestrial field work targets seabirds, while opportunistic recordings may be made of other vocalizing animals, including mammals, fishes, and invertebrates. Students will study the contributions of anthropogenic sounds (human-made) to natural soundscapes. Field -based acoustic playback experiments will be conducted to study how different properties of gull vocalizations influence gull behavior.

Students will explore the theory and practice of fisheries sustainability through lectures, readings, laboratory exercises, and ground truthing in the real world (in the field) by interacting with local fishermen. This course will focus primarily on species harvested in the Gulf of Maine, with an emphasis on fin fish. Topics will include an overview of commercial fisheries in the Gulf of Maine: fish collection and dissections, fishing gear types and modifications, age and growth techniques, quantitative data collection and analysis, current, past and future directions in fisheries management strategies, collaborative research and 'conservation' fishing gear, environmental changes, perspectives from different stakeholders, hands-on demonstrations with commercial fishermen from different industries, sustainable seafood and the market-place, human dimensions of sustainable fishing (cultural and socio-economic issues).

Designed to introduce students to a comparative study of the principal organ systems of vertebrates (i.e., fishes, sea turtles, marine birds, marine mammals) that are specifically adapted to the marine environment. Rather than focusing only on description of anatomical structure, the anatomy of structures will be integrated with function, biological role, and evolutionary relationships. Laboratory exercises cover osteology, dissection, behavior and biomechanics.

This course will focus on one of the most diverse and fascinating groups of marine organisms- parasites. We will explore marine parasites and pathogens at multiple levels, including: (1) the evolutionary perspective with an emphasis on co-evolutionary relationships; (2) parasitic diseases and life cycles (from simple to complex); (3) taxonomic and phylogenetic understanding of parasite and host groups (with a focus on metazoan parasites and hosts); (4) ecological implications of parasitism in marine systems-at the population, community, and ecosystem levels; and (5) the effects of human-induced global change on parasitism in marine communities.

Introduction to the biology and conservation of the whales and seals, with a particular focus on species of the Gulf of Maine. Lectures will examine many facets of marine mammal science including: taxonomy and species diversity, morphological and physiological adaptations for life in the sea, foraging ecology and behavior, reproductive cycles, bioacoustics, anthropogenic interactions, and management of threatened species. Land and open-water observations of whale and seal behavior will give students hands-on opportunities to study marine mammals in the field.

The biology, ecology, and behavior of the avifauna of the Isles of Shoals. Focuses on fieldwork designed to observe and study territoriality, breeding biology, and survivorship. Students learn and apply numerous ornithological field methods including various census techniques, territory mapping, banding, behavioral observations and creating a field notebook.

The Gulf of Maine is experiencing rapid ecological change as a result of multiple stressors, including climate change, ocean acidification, non-native species, and changing fisheries dynamics. This course will challenge students with these real-world problems to engage in solutions that integrate the best available science into conservation and management goals. Students will learn about ecosystem-based management and integrated ecosystem assessments. They will learn integrated ecosystem research tools used in field and laboratory research, and apply these tools around the Isles of Shoals and the Gulf of Maine. Finally, students will be organized into pairs when conducting research and then collaborate to integrate their research and to make recommendations to an outside panel of experts on their answers for management.

The last 30 years have produced an explosion of new information on the biology of the approximately 1,000 living species of sharks, skates, rays, and chimaeras, which collectively make up the group Chondrichthyes. This course will cover advanced topics in the evolution, diversity, anatomy, functional morphology, neurobiology, sensory systems, behavior, reproduction, development, and conservation of cartilaginous fishes.

Introduction to independent research. We will build a scientific community to support one another in proposing a testable biological question and carrying out the field or lab work to answer the question. You will practice the full scientific process; generating hypotheses, designing methods, troubleshooting, collecting data, interpreting and communicating your findings. Field time will be primarily dedicated to independent research where you will be in charge of your own data collection. Classroom sessions include discussions of primary literature, data analysis, peer feedback, and lectures on statistics, programming, and presentation skills. At the end of the course, students will present their research in a symposium and submit a written report in the style of a brief scientific article.