Are you excited about exploring the world beneath the waves and investigating questions about how and where subtidal creatures live? In Marine Subtidal Ecology (FHL 468), you will explore the temperate nearshore subtidal through a combination of interactive lectures and labs, field research activities, and a group research project that addresses one aspect of a broader class-wide question. Field research activities will put students in the water and provide training in the techniques subtidal researchers use to do science underwater. Expect to get wet and salty, safely! If you don’t yet have a favorite marine organism in the Salish Sea, you certainly will by the end of this course.

Learning Objectives

Goals

• Discuss foundational concepts and theories of subtidal marine ecology
• Compare/contrast marine habitats, organismal life history strategies, and species interactions of subtidal marine organisms
• Assess how human activities impact subtidal marine ecosystems and evaluate current conservation challenges and strategies

Skills

• Conduct a group research project (addressing one aspect of a broader question), including hypothesis generation, experimental design, data collection and analysis, and manuscript/presentation preparation

• Develop expertise in identification of Salish Sea invertebrate, macroalgae, and fish species
• Read primary literature and collect/analyze/interpret data drawn from a variety of sources to draw evidence-based conclusions

• Become familiar with a variety of data collection techniques (observational and experimental) in order to safely conduct in-water diving research*

Please contact the instructors listed below for more details related to the course. For specific questions regarding diving requirements and training at UW and FHL, contact FHL’s Dive Safety Officer, Pema Kitaeff (pema@uw.edu).

Graded assignments will include lab activities, a field notebook, a lab practical exam, and a group research project (including proposal/final paper/presentation to the FHL community). In-class participation (including all in-water activities) and leading a journal article discussion (with a partner) will also be important aspects of this course.

Applicants should have completed a course in ecology OR marine biology. No textbook is required.

*Students may take a scuba OR snorkel version of this course.

* Incoming divers-in-training will need to provide their own cold-water appropriate SCUBA gear and meet specific SCUBA diving requirements several months prior to the beginning of the course.  An additional course fee of $850 for diving students will be assessed to cover UW and FHL dive fees.

*Incoming snorkelers-in-training will need to provide their own cold-water appropriate gear, including a wet suit, fins, mask, and snorkel.

Photo credits: Galloway, Lowe, and Graham.

If you are interested in the SCUBA track of Marine Subtidal Ecology you will need to complete the following addendum with your application: MSE application addendum 2024