In the Fall of 2014 we will run a pilot program for the Marine Science Semester, offering two courses at the Bowdoin Marine Laboratory and Coastal Studies Center. Transportation will be provided.

Each of course counts as an elective in the Biology Major. In addition, Biology 2330 will count as a Group 3 core course. Pre-requisites: Bio 1101, Bio 1102 or 1109, and one semester of Math.

Course to be taught Fall 2014

Dimensions of Marine Biodiversity – Biology 3301. Dave Carlon.
Class: Tuesday 2:30-3:55, Lab: Thursday 1:00-3:55
This inquiry driven field course examines the significance of marine biodiversity through the lenses of systematics, genetics, and functional ecology. Each semester we consider major contemporary scientific problems by confronting student-generated hypotheses with data sets from multiple dimensions of biodiversity in coastal Maine. For Fall 2014, we will examine the impacts of invasive species on native shellfish populations, build a longitudinal data set of coastal plankton, and investigate potential impacts of coastal aquaculture on marine ecosystem functioning. Taught at the Coastal Studies Center, Orr’s Island (Same as ES 2234).

Marine Molecular Ecology & Evolution – Biology 2330.  Sarah Kingston.
Class: Tuesday 1:00-2:25, Lab: Friday 1:30-4:30
Features the application of molecular data to ecological and evolutionary questions in coastal and marine contexts. Hands on work will introduce students to field sampling, data generation, and analysis of molecular data sets (using both Sanger-based and Next Generation Sequencing technologies). The course will emphasize robust sampling design in both ecological and population genetic contexts. Theoretical foci will include evolutionary and population genetic concepts and analytical tools: tenets of Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium, Wright-Fisher model, the coalescent, evolutionary processes and signatures in the genome, speciation: maintenance and breakdown of reproductive isolation, spatial patterns and phylogeography, selection and linking genotype to phenotype. Lectures, discussions, data analysis, and computer-based simulations will demonstrate the relevant theoretical principles of population genetics and phylogenetics. A class project will begin a long-term sampling program that uses molecular tools to understand temporal and spatial change in the ocean. During the course of the project, students will learn to apply bioinformatic analyses to population-level genomic data.  Taught at the Coastal Studies Center, on Orr’s Island. (Same as ES 2233)

Questions? Contact Dave Carlon or Sarah Kingston

Dave Carlon, Associate Professor of Biology, and Director of the Bowdoin Marine Laboratory
232 Druckenmiller Hall
Phone: 207-798-4364, e-mail: [email protected]

Sarah Kingston, Doherty Marine biology Postdoctoral Scholar
109 Bannister Hall
E-mail: [email protected]