Zoology Botany (ZooBot) hosts three complementary courses that students take for a full quarter of 15 credits. Students also have an option to take a 1-credit seminar course which will bring their schedule up to 16 credits. All students are required to live on the Friday Harbor Labs campus, which is located on San Juan Island (around a 4 hour trip via car and ferry from Seattle). Direct all questions to FHL’s Academic Services Manager at fhlstudents@uw.edu.

• BIOL 180: Mendelian genetics, evolution, biodiversity of life forms, ecology, and conservation biology (introductory biology)
• FISH/BIOL/OCEAN 250: physical, biological, and social aspects of the marine environment – oceanography, ecology, physiology, behavior, conservation, fisheries, exploration, and activism (introductory marine sciences)

Marine Zoology (FHL/BIOL 430, 5 credits) & Marine Botany (FHL 440/BIOL 445, 5 credits)

Instructors: Dr. Megan Dethier and TBD

The Zoology and Botany courses survey marine invertebrates, algae and marine vascular plants represented in the San Juan Archipelago emphasizing and integrating natural history, ecology, and taxonomy. Frequent local intertidal field trips to a variety of habitats allow students to study organisms in their natural environments, and dredging collection trips using FHL’s research vessel permit exploration of subtidal systems. Lectures are followed by detailed laboratory study of live organisms often collected by the student. All students also perform organized outreach activities with local schools.

A 4-day field trip (over a weekend) to an exposed rocky coast enables study of the organisms on wave-swept shores.

No textbooks are required for these courses.

UW Marine Biology majors enrolled in each of these courses are eligible to earn Biodiversity credit.

Research in Marine Biology (FHL 470, 6 credits)

Instructor: Dr. Hazel Havens

The spring Research in Marine Biology course introduces students to all of the work that goes into planning, conducting, and disseminating the results of a successful marine biology field season. Throughout the quarter, students learn the essential skills of the marine field researcher, from experimental design and statistical analysis to writing and presenting findings, as well as practical field skills. Working with a partner, students use these skills to plan and execute a short field season focused on a research question of their design. Finally, students prepare their findings for written publication and presentation.

Projects in this spring course are themed around understanding the sensory ecology of marine organisms. Sensory ecology is the study of how organisms’ interactions with their environment are mediated via their senses and how sensory systems often structure an organism’s life history and ecology. After all, responding appropriately to the environment is impossible if you cannot first sense it. Understanding these sensory cues and how organisms use them to direct behavior is an important part of understanding the marine world.

A wide variety of projects are possible within this sensory ecology framework, and previous student research has included studying how ferry noise affects the behavior and health of dock shrimp, whether mixotrophic diatoms grow towards light in the presence of other nutrients, and if red crabs can differentiate more and less nutritious prey by olfactory cues alone.

No textbook is required for this course.

UW students enrolled in this course will earn (W) credit.

UW students enrolled in FHL 470 are eligible and encouraged to apply to the Mary Gates Endowment for FHL.

UW Marine Biology majors enrolled in this course are eligible to earn integrative field experience (IFE) credit. 

Marine Sciences Seminar (FHL 490, 1 credit)

Instructor: TBD

There will be one lecture per week by research scientists. The topics will cover different fields of research. Participation is obligatory for registered students wanting to gain credits, but all students are encouraged to attend. No textbook required.