Marine Ecology (ENV 4460) Prof. George P. Kraemer Fall 2011 Course Syllabus Course Scope and Objectives: This course surveys the field of marine ecology, synthesizing information from all levels of organization (organism, population, community). The course relies strongly on readings of the primary marine ecological literature to supplement the textbook. The specific objectives of this course are: develop an understanding of the mechanisms by which biotic and abiotic factors control the abundance and distribution of marine organisms; build a base of knowledge of the characteristics of specific marine ecosystems; develop the skills of interpretation, synthesis, and presentation skills through reading, writing, and oral presentation Readings Required Text: Marine Biology: An Ecological Approach (Nybakken & Bertness, 6th ed. 2005) Other Readings: Marine Ecological Processes (Valiela, 2nd ed., 1995) via Moodle page, e-journal articles via Moodle page (list appended) Meeting Times Lecture: Lab: Office Hours: Contact : Tuesday & Friday, 10:30 – 12:10 in NS3053 Wednesday 8:30-12:10 in NS0016 (other times as needed for field work) Tuesday 2:30-3:30, Friday 8:30-9:30, or by appointment (NS 0051) george.kraemer@purchase.edu Grading Exam I Exam II Final Exam Quizes Paper/Data Analysis Literature Presentation Lab Assignments (includes lab notebook review) TOTAL Point Value 100 100 250 100 100 50 300 1000 Tentative Lecture Schedule Date Aug Sept Topic Ecological Basics: Properties & Processes 30 Properties of seawater, marine vs. terrestrial 2 Physical processes, hydrodynamics, patchiness 6 Physical processes (cont.) Primary production: producers, light, 9 nutrients, temperature, entry into food web, global patterns Readings Nybakken Valiela1 1-7 (7-19), 31-35 “ 42-47, 61-77 13 Consumer-prey interactions 16 Consumer-prey interactions (cont.) 20 Larval ecology, life history strategies PL2 325-339 1 203-212 2 165-188 3 “ 25-31 23 Competition 4 107-131 5 26 Biogeography and introduced species 30 Exam I Oct 4 Ecological function in marine ecosystems, ecosystem bioengineering 76-94 6 Ecological Characteristics of Marine Communities 7 Intertidal characteristics, soft sediment communities 11 Rocky intertidal ecology Rocky intertidal and kelp forest ecology 18 Mangrove community ecology, salt marsh ecology 21 Estuaries 267-276, 308-331 277-306 215-232 7 453-467, 381-400 8 361-381 25 NO CLASS Readings from Valiela available via course Moodle page (see library website) Primary literature (see appended list) 1 2 28 Seagrass community ecology Nov 196-209, 233-240 9 407-452 10 56-61, 104-141 11 1 Exam II 4 Coral reef ecology 8 Coral reef ecology (cont.) 11 Open ocean ecology 15 Open ocean ecology (cont.) 18 Deep-sea ecology 145-186, 187-191 22 Upwelling systems 25 Anthropogenic impacts 12 Chapter 11 25 NO CLASS – Thanksgiving Break 29 Anthropogenic impacts (continued), marine conservation Dec 1 “Clean up” 6 “Clean up” FINAL EXAM (12:00-3:00) 13 Readings from Primary Literature (see course Moodle page) 1 Dehnhardt, G., Mauck, B., Hanke, W., Bleckmann, H. 2001. Hydrodynamic trailfollowing in harbor seals (Phoca vitulina). Science, vol. 293, no. 5527, pp. 102-104. 2 Duarte, C.M., Cebrián. 1996. The fate of marine autotrophic production. Limnology and Oceanography, vol. 41, p. 1758-1766. 3 Holdredge, C.,.Bertness, M.D., Altieri, A.H. 2008. Role of crab herbivory in die-off of New England salt marshes. Conservation Biology, vol. 23, 672–679. 4 Lindquist, N., Hay, M.E. 1996. Palatability and chemical defense of marine invertebrate larvae. Ecological Monographs, vol. 66, p. 431-450. 5 Fourqurean, J.W., Powell, G.V.N., Kenworthy, W.J., Zieman, J.C. 1995. The effects of long-term manipulation of nutrient supply on competition between the seagrasses Thalassia testudinum and Halodule wrightii in Florida Bay. Oikos, vol. 72, p. 349-358. 6 Power, M.P., et al. 1996. Challenges in the quest for keystones. Bioscience, vol. 46, p. 609-620. 7 Gaines, S.D., Roughgarden, J. 1987. Fish in offshore kelp forests affect recruitment to intertidal barnacles populations. Science, vol. 235, issue 4787, p. 479-781 8 Bertness, R.D. 1984. Ribbed mussels and Spartina alterniflora production in a New England salt marsh. Ecology, vol. 65, p.1794-1807. 9 Zimmerman, R.C., Kohrs, D.G., Alberte, R.S. 1996. Top-down impact through a bottom-up mechanism: the effect of limpet grazing on growth, productivity, and carbon allocation of Zostera marina (eelgrass). Oecologia, vol. 107, p. 560-567. 10 Edmunds, P.J., Carpenter, R.C. 2001. Recovery of Diadema antillarum reduces macroalgal cover and increases abundance of juvenile corals on a Caribbean reef. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, vol. 98, no. 9, p. 50675071. 11 Starr, M., Himmelman, J.H., Therriault, J-C. 1990. Direct coupling of marine invertebrate spawning with phytoplankton blooms. Science, vol. 247, p.10711074 12 Sanford, E. 1999. Regulation of keystone predation by small changes in ocean temperature. Science, vol. 283, p. 2095-2097. 13 Bertness, M.D. 1984. Habitat and community modification by an introduced herbivorous snail. Ecology, vol. 65, p. 370-381. Marine Ecology ENV 4460 Fall 2011 Prof. George Kraemer Tentative Laboratory Syllabus Point Value Date Topic Aug 31 Hemigrapsus sanguineus intertidal distribution (Read Sanctuary, Rye (NY), leave campus at 6:15 a.m.) Habitat as driver of abundance? Hemi data collection Excel reminder: oceanographic, Hemigrapsus data; image analysis FLASH DRIVE USEFUL Identification of local plants, animals Sept 7 Sept 14 Sept 21 Detecting non-natives (planning) Discuss surface area-volume measurements Sept 28 Detecting non-natives (field work) Crab habitat observations (Read Sanctuary, Rye (NY), leave campus at 6:00 a.m.) Form-function experiment I: macrophyte ammonium uptake (review: Littler and Littler; E-RES) Oct 5 Oct 12 25 20 30 40 25 Oct 19 Hermit crab shell use Intermediate disturbance hypothesis I - photographs (Read Sanctuary, Rye (NY), leave campus at 6:00 a.m.) Quantification of anti-herbivore defense compounds Oct 26 Temperature tolerance 30 Nov2 Crab habitat - sample analysis Intermediate disturbance hypothesis II - analysis 25 25 Nov 9 Salt marsh ecology (TBA) Nov 16 Hemigrapsus sanguineus surface area-volume measurements Nov 23 NO LAB – Thanksgiving Break Nov 30 Simple photosynthesis model; FLASH Dec 7 Review for final exam DRIVE USEFUL NB: to pass the course, you must pass the lab section (i.e., earn > 150 points) no points for missed labs (i.e., missed data collection) late penalty for lab assignments = 10% each day late, no credit after 4 days data must be computer-graphed, text must be typed (double-spaced) 30 25 25