Learn about Marine Environments

• Along shorelines, offshore and in the open oceans
• Above and below the water surface and in the ocean depths
• The problems facing marine environments
• How those problems are able to be managed

COURSE CONTENT

This course has ten lessons as follows:

1. Scope and Nature of Marine Ecology 

• Different Marine Ecosystems
• Coral Reefs
• Types of Coral Reef - fringing reefs, atolls, barrier reefs
• Purpose of a Coral Reef
• Rocky Shore
• Kelp Forest
• Seagrass meadow
• Mangrove
• Estuary
• Salt Marsh
• Tundras
• Open Ocean
• Deep Ocean

2. Biodiversity of Marine Environments

• Measuring Biodiversity
• Why Biodiversity Matters - species richness, genetic diversity
• Marine Protists and Plant Life
• Bony Fish
• Sharks and Rays
• Whales
• Microscopic Invertebrates
• Worms and Worm Like Animals
• Corals and their Relatives
• Molluscs and Echinoderms
• Microbe - bacteria, fungi, marine viruses
• Microbial Loop
• Carbon Cycling and Dissolved Organic Carbon
• Biodiversity in a Reef
• Food Webs
• Declining Biodiversity

3. Environmental Factors of Marine Environments

• Introduction
• Types of Water - sea, fresh, brackish
• Oceanography
• Oceanic circulation
• Longitudinal Circulation
• Southern Oscillation (El Nino, La Nina Effect)
• Ocean Gyres
• Ocean Zones
• Pelagic Zone
• Abiotic Factors - light, temperature, salinity, density, dissolved gases
• Climate

4. Climate Change & Other Anthropogenic Pressures

• How humans create Biodiversity Threats
• Agricultural Runoff (into estuaries)
• Fresh water Pollutants - sediments, agricultural chemicals, other
• Salinity Changes
• Oil Spills
• Disturbed Food Chains
• Overfishing
• Climate Change
• Ocean Warming and Sea Levels
• Ocean Acidification
• Testing pH
• Coral Bleaching

5. Restoration of Natural Marine Ecosystems

• Microplastics
• Ecotoxicology
• Eutrophication
• Erosion
• Flood Prevention
• Restoring Coral Reefs
• Coral Reef Threats- agricultural runoff, seaweed/kelp, sand, sunscreen, climate change, predators.
• Restoration through Coral Transplantation
• Restoration through Micro fragmentation
• Coral Nurseries
• Planting out Corals and Substrates
• Regeneration using Natural Reed Beds to Purify Waste Water

6. Managing Threatened Species (Practical and Regulatory Approaches) 

• Introduction to Invasive Species
• Managing Invasive Species
• Population Surveys and Monitoring
• Census of Marine Life
• Managing a Threatened Species via Conservation Practices
• Conservation of Threatened Species
• Where to Start
• Conservation of Habitat
• Ecological Gap Analysis
• Reference Sites
• Breeding Programs
• Keystone Species
• Predators
• Ecosystem Engineers
• Mutualists
• Intervention Types - Regulation
• Case Study 

7. Managing Fisheries in Marine Ecosystems 

• Introduction
• Case Study - Overfishing Orange Roughy
• Stock Identity
• Stock Assessment
• Stock Biomass
• Stock Management Methods
• General Techniques for Managing Fisheries - habitat restoration/closure, seasonal closure, closed waters, protected Statius, Limits, Catch Quotas, Fishing methods.
• Licences/Permits, Education Programs, Aquaculture
• Responding to human Food Needs
• Aquaculture/ Mariculture
• Extensive Production Mariculture
• Intensive Production Mariculture
• Classification of Systems
• Disease Management for Fisheries

8. Marine Resources and Sustainability 

• What is a Marine Protected Area
• How are MPA's Used
• The AICHI Biodiversity Targets
• Marine Protected Area Agency Partnership
• International Guidelines for Designating and Managing MPA's
• Designating an MPA
• Field Work
• Analysis of Existing Resources
• Conservation and Monitoring of MPAs
• Working Outside Marine Protected Areas
• Sustainable Development
• Preserving Environments
• Pollution Prevention

9. Technology 

• Introduction
• Platforms in Oceanography
• Ocean Robots and ROV's
• Satellites 
• Biodiversity
• Other Devices
• Digital Photography
• High Tech Tagging
• Biotech - DNA Barcoding and Phylogenetic Analysis
• Microarray 
• SNP array
• Removal of Ocean Debris and Human Waste
• Broad Considerations in Marine Research

10. Data in Marine Management

• Introduction 
• Ethics in Data
• Principles of Measurement
• Variables
• Measurement Scales
• Measurement Error
• Bias and Consistency
• Making Observations
• Developing skills in observation
• Samples and Sampling
• Choosing a basic method of sampling
• Using Statistics to Analyse Probability
• Probability Parameters
• P-Values
• Statistics show Relationship
• Knowing what to Ask about Data - Question types