Marine Ecology
Summer 2014, Second Session
Dauphin Island Sea Lab
Credits:
Lecture:
Instructor: Dr. Kelly Dorgan
4
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9:00 - 11:30 a.m.; Break from
10:00 – 10:15 a.m.
Monday, Thursday and Friday from 1:00 - 4:30 p.m. Please note that there is a Lab:
Office:
required overnight field trip on Thursday/Friday of the third week of class and a late evening field trip the last Monday of class.
MSH 109 Office Hours: Tuesdays 11:30-12:30, or by appointment
Email:
Phone:
TA: kdorgan@disl.org (preferred)
251-861-2141 x7553
Whitney Scheffel; wscheffel@disl.org; 251-861-2141 Ext. 2179
Course Description:
Marine Ecology is an advanced course open to juniors, seniors and graduate students. We will study marine organisms as they interact with each other and their environment, and examine theories, and the experimental basis of our current knowledge. The laboratory will consist of field trips to a wide variety of marine habitats, and field problems which will be examined by small groups of students. The three main objectives of this course are as follows: 1) learn about the ecology of various marine environments; 2) introduce students to marine ecology field techniques; and 3) introduce students to basic statistics used in marine ecology.
Text: None Required. However, Levinton 2009 is recommended as a useful study guide. Several others have been placed on reserve to help you with the lecture material. There will be additional readings assigned during the course that will be available on the shared drive and will be emailed. You are responsible for checking your email and/or the shared drive for updates.
Readings placed on reserve include:
Levinton, J. 2009. Marine Biology: Function, Biodiversity, Ecology 3 rd Ed.
Nybakken, J.W. 2001. Marine Biology: An ecological approach
Valiela. I. 1984, 1995. Marine Ecological Processes, 1st & 2nd edition.
Bertness, et al. 2001. Marine Community Ecology.
Exams: There will be two exams. Tests will be blank. short answer, multiple choice, and fill-in-the-
Material on exams will include all information presented in class and laboratory lectures, including handouts, reading assignments, videos and special topics.
Lab Although field experiments will be done in teams, lab notebooks will be done
Reports: individually. Data will be gathered and analyzed by each group but collaboration will not be allowed in preparing lab notebooks.
Lab notebooks will be collected for grading before the mid-term and final exams.

Homework/ Homework assignments will include readings from primary and secondary literature. participation: Readings may be accompanied by short answer questions, which will be checked for
completion at the beginning of class, or there may be a quiz that will count toward the
participation grade. Class discussions and activities will build on these readings. Students
who have not completed the readings will be unable to participate fully.
Grade Apportionment and Assignments: Grading: Midterm exam 30%
Final exam 35%
Lab Notebook 25%
Participation/HW 10%
100%
Letter Grades: Grades will be assigned based on the Plus/Minus System.
Attendance and Make-Up Policy:
Although no attendance grade is given for this course, it is required that you attend every lecture. Due to the short time-frame of the course (4 weeks), lectures move quickly and cover a lot of material, so missing just one lecture may put a student behind. If you must miss a class for any reason, you will be held responsible for all material covered and any announcements made during that lecture.
Lab experiments and field trips and related experiments cannot be made up due to their nature. If a student misses a lab experiment or field trip, then they will be unable to turn in a lab report for that experiment and will be assigned 0 points for that report and 0 participation points for that event.
Acceptable reasons for requesting a make-up exam are medical (individual or immediate family only), legal (accident or court case; individual only), or funerary (immediate family only). Students must notify Dr. Dorgan by the date of the exam if they will miss the scheduled exam. Reasons for requesting a make-up exam must relate specifically to the time period of the missed coursework. Reasons for requesting a make-up exam must be documented in writing by an involved professional. Dr. Dorgan retains the right to make additional inquiries concerning the documentation and retains the right to give a make-up exam that is different in exact content and/or style than the missed coursework.
Academic Misconduct Policy:
All acts of dishonesty in any work constitute academic misconduct. This includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, fabrication of information, misrepresentations, and abetting in any of the above. In the event that academic misconduct occurs the student will be given a ‘zero’ on the assignment. Any formal grievance to the instructor’s decision to declare academic misconduct will follow the guidelines outlined in the DISL Graduate Student
Handbook (available from the DISL Registrar).
ADA Statement:
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, students with bona fide disabilities will be afforded reasonable accommodation in this course. If a student has a disability that they feel might impede their ability to fully participate in the class, they are asked to advise the instructor at their earliest convenience (no later than the first day of the course). In such cases, the instructor will work with the student and the Office of Special Student Services (or its equivalent) to provide reasonable accommodation for the student.

DATE
June
July
Lecture Schedule
TOPIC
23 M Introduction to Marine Ecology,
Reproduction, Dispersal & Migration
24 T Ecological Principles, Species Interactions
26 Th
27 F
Ecological Principles, Species Interactions
Patterns of Biodiversity
30 M
Demographic Techniques; Primary productivity
1 T Primary Productivity; Microbial ecology
Mid-Term Exam (a.m.), Lab notebooks due
3 Th Benthic Life
4 F
7 M
Benthic Life, Intertidal & Subtidal
Seagrass, Coral Reefs, Mangroves,
Salt Marshes
8 T Coastal areas; Gulf of Mexico
10 Th
11 F
Field Trip to Panama City
Field Trip to Panama City
14 M
Statistical Methods (a.m.)
Field trip on Alabama Discovery (p.m.)
15 T
17 Th
Deep Sea and Polar Communities
Human Impacts, Lab Notebooks due
18 F Final Exam (a.m.)
CHAPTER IN
LEVINTON
(2009)
1, 4, 6
3
3
17
7, 9
10
12, 13, 14, 15
15
15
16
18, 19

*Note that this schedule is tentative and subject to change due to weather, logistics, etc.
Field/Laboratory Schedule & Point Breakdown
DATE EXERCISE % OF GRADE
June 23 – M Nearest Neighbor (airport marsh)
June 26 & 27 –Th & F Mark & Recapture (airport marsh)
June 30 – M Age Structure & Survivorship (Point aux Pins)
July 3 – Th
July 3-7 Th-M
Competition Experiments (Ferry Marsh)
Predation Experiments (Ferry Marsh)
2
2
3
2
3
July 10 & 11 - Th & F Community Structure (St. Andrews Bay)
July 10 & 11 - Th & F Rubble Structures (St. Andrews State Park)
July 10 & 11 – Th & F Plot and Transect Sampling (St. Andrews Bay)
July 14 – M Effects of Substrates on Benthic Invertebrates/ Night Trawling
5
2
3
3
TOTAL 25
Please come to lab fully prepared to get wet each day. You will need shoes, clothes and possibly rain gear that you don’t mind getting wet and muddy. From time to time, you will also need to bring a dive mask, snorkel, and fins. Some of you may also find comfort from the use of motion sickness medicine on the offshore trip that is scheduled for the last week of class. In addition, you should plan to apply the appropriate sun block to exposed skin.
*Note that this schedule is tentative and subject to change due to weather, logistics, etc.

Marine Ecology
Summer 2013, Second Session – Dr. Kelly Dorgan
Marine Ecology Notebooks
The Lab Notebook:
The Lab Notebook will be used to organize your lab reports and handouts. Your Lab Notebook will include small reports that are based on the class projects. Follow the directions on each lab handout. In some cases this will require creative thought on your part as the results from your field work may yield unexpected results. This notebook will be graded.
The Field Notebook:
Whenever you go into the field to sample you should keep a record of your activities. Experience has shown that if it wasn’t written down or taped, important details will be forgotten. Get the habit now!
Learn to Record:
Date:
Time:
Locality: (GPS Coordinates if available)
Sky Conditions:
Sea State:
Water Temperature & Salinity:
Gear Used:
Number of Replicates:
Habitat/Substrate:
General Observations: (For example, # grabs, dredges, trawls with general notes
about contents and catch per unit effort. Record notes on
individuals returned to sea for conservation reasons.)