With nearly 625 species of marine macroalgae (i.e., seaweeds) reported for the region, the San Juan Islands provide one of the most species-rich seaweed assemblages in the world. This charismatic megaflora has played host to generations of phycologists for over 100 years and is the type locality for over 20 species, making it an ideal place to elucidate the principles, methods, and applications of marine macroalgal biodiversity studies. Furthermore, considering the range of human impacts on natural ecosystems and current trends in biodiversity decline from increases in sea surface temperature, ocean acidification or biological invasions, to name but a few, an understanding of the diversity, distribution and ecological role of habitat-structuring marine floras is essential.

The theme of the 2016 summer course is “uniting classical phycological principles and methods with modern phylogenetics and genomics”, with a focus on the macroalgae of marine benthic environments in the Salish Sea. Students will learn traditional and contemporary molecular methods for the identification, classification, and analysis of marine benthic algae (seaweeds), the theories underlying the methods, and the application of biodiversity information in benthic ecology. They will gain practical experience in such tools as: specimen collection, identification, preservation, and the creation of databases. Students will investigate macroalgal morphology, life histories, reproduction, and the role of macroalgae in the nearshore ecosystem, including primary production and food web interactions, biogenic habitats, and plant-animal interactions such as herbivory. This knowledge will be tested with molecular techniques, including phylogenetics (DNA isolation, PCR amplification, phylogenetic analysis) and genomics (organellar assembly, annotation, submission to GenBank). The course will demonstrate how to use modern tools to address questions raised through morphological and ecological observations. Field and lab work will be extensive, as the diverse and species-rich aquatic habitats on and around San Juan Island provide ideal sites for the examination of macroalgal diversity.

We will emphasize the use of the above combined approaches to answer phycological questions. The students will perform group projects using morphological, ecological and molecular data to assess the diversity of algal populations, and interpret that diversity in its ecological context. For the class project, students will examine the ecological, evolutionary, and genomic diversity of the red algal genus Mastocarpus in the Salish Sea.

At the end of the course, students will be able to perform standard techniques and use modern tools to identify and classify algae, and to critically assess the value of these tools in studies of algal biodiversity and marine benthic ecosystems. Students, through the production of outreach products, will also learn how to effectively communicate to the public about the significance of marine algae to conservation, sustainability or other relevant societal issues. Students will partner with or present to such on-going efforts as the Friday Harbor Labs Science Outreach Program, Marine Resource Committees, The Encyclopedia of Puget Sound, and Friends of the San Juans.

This is a course appropriate for marine biologists, botanists, geneticists, and oceanographers with interests in marine biodiversity, conservation biology, and coastal ecology with an emphasis on using genetic data to support taxonomic and ecological studies, and to promote conservation.

Graduate student members of the Phycological Society of America are eligible to apply for the Hannah T. Croasdale Fellowship, which offers fellowships of up to $1,500 to help defray costs associated with participating in this course. Interested students should also inquire with graduate student organizations and departments at their home institution, which often have awards to help defray costs of participating in field biology courses. Because this course also involves specimen-based research, you may qualify for research awards. Please contact the course instructors to learn more about how the course learning objectives might align with your research goals.
For Marine Botany we do not require a formal text, however we recommend this book as a mid level text covering most of the subjects presented in the course: Lee, R. E. 2008. Phycology. 4th Ed. Cambridge University Press. x + 547 pp (About $75 new on Amazon in paperback, $95 from publisher, $60 Kindle edition and rents for $33 from Amazon. (Make sure to get the 4th edition – it’s substantially different/updated from the 3rd edition.) Copies will be available in the FHL library.

Students will need boots, warm clothing, and good rain gear for intertidal field trips, as well as camping gear for a field trip to the outer coast. Detailed instructions will be provided.

We plan to take a 4-day trip to the exposed coast of Vancouver Island, Canada, so all US students will need a passport or Enhanced Driver’s License, and foreign students may need a visa:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp

Enrollment limited to 15 students.