Biological Oceanography Curriculum
The course work requirements for Biological Oceanography graduate students are outlined below. As an individual student's program must also reflect their background and areas of interest, waivers for School of Oceanography breadth requirements should be referred to the Graduate Program Coordinator, and waivers to Biological Oceanography requirements may be granted by the advisory/supervisory committee.
If the required core courses are not offered in the first 8 quarters of enrollment, students should consult with their adviser and committee to develop a plan to complete the required coursework or petition to have the requirement(s) waived.
Biological Oceanography students are expected to complete the following courses in their first two years. In addition, all first-year graduate students must complete a research project (minimum of 2 credits as Ocean 600). Acceptable alternatives to Ocean 600 include Ocean 534, summer courses offered by Biological Oceanography faculty at the Friday Harbor Laboratories, Ocean 575, and some laboratory courses offered by other departments and schools on campus (with prior approval from the adviser).
BIOLOGICAL OCEANOGRAPHY CORE COURSES (complete all)
OCEAN 530 Marine Bacteria, Archaea, And Viruses (3). Explores the role of marine microorganisms in transformations of dissolved and particulate organic matter. Covers the functional and phylogenetic diversity of bacteria, archaea, and viruses in the marine environment; the fate of organic carbon in the microbial loop; and the interrelationship of the carbon cycle with other biogeochemical cycles.
OCEAN 531 Marine Phytoplankton And Biogeochemistry (3). Covers phytoplankton in the marine environment: evolution, ecology, primary productivity, and physiology, emphasizing their role in the global carbon cycle; spatial and temporal distributions of phytoplankton and how these patterns may change as ocean conditions change; and methods for determining distributions and rates in different ocean ecosystems.
OCEAN 532 Marine Zooplankton Ecology (3). Examines the role of zooplankton in ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles. Covers the distribution and abundance of zooplankton in space and time; small-scale distributions; morphology and behavior; population dynamic, energetics, and secondary production; trophic structure and dynamics; biogeography; impacts of climate change; and models of populations and food chains.
OCEAN 533 Marine Benthic Ecology (3). Analyzes marine communities associated with the porous boundaries of the ocean, from sedimented seafloor and hydrothermal vents to sea ice (inverted benthos); emphasizing nutrition to these communities, including sinking organic aggregates, themselves porous habitats, and the role of symbiosis.
OCEAN 535 Biological Oceanography (3). Examines major patterns and processes in upper ocean pelagic ecosystems, emphasizing quantitative analysis of mechanisms controlling production and abundances of organisms, from plankton to fish. Introduces interdisciplinary study of effects of anthrogenically induced changes in climate and ocean chemistry on organisms, ecosystem processes, and biogeochemical cycles.
SEMINARS
There is a weekly seminar in Biological Oceanography. Students are required to attend their first year and required to present their research results after their first two years. In addition, courses on special topics of interest are offered as OCEAN 539, Seminar in Biological Oceanography.
ADVANCED COURSE WORK (complete 3 credits before Master's degree and 3 more credits before Doctoral degree)
Advanced courses are offered in alternating years and explore subdisciplines of biological oceanography in greater depth than the core courses. Advanced seminars serve the important role of treating current specialized and often interdisciplinary topics; the emphasis is on student presentations. Advanced summer courses are offered at the Friday Harbor Laboratories in some years.
OCEAN 539 Modeling populations in the ocean (3). Mathematical concepts and modeling methods most central to posing and answering quantitative questions about biological processes in marine environments. Lectures, literature readings and computer lab exercises that familiarize students with theoretical background and modeling software (Matlab, Maple, FreeMat, FiPy) relevant to population dynamics, population structure, and physical biology.
OCEAN 539 Environmental Genomics (3).Molecular biology concepts and bioinformatic methods central to utilizing genomic data in an environmental context. Lectures, literature readings and computer lab exercises that familiarize students with theoretical background, current databases and software tools relevant to inferring phylogenetic and functional information from genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic data, from organisms and mixed communities.
OCEAN 570 Marine Microbial Interactions (1-3). New research directions in the analysis of the structure, function, and dynamics of marine microbial populations; emphasis on interactions between unicellular organisms (Bacteria, Archaea, phytoplankton, protists) and viruses; assemblages in specialized environments; sites and patterns of genetic exchange and evolutionary implications.
OCEAN 572 Marine Protist Ecology (1-3). Examines the phagotrophic (protozoa) and mixotrophic (both photosynthetic and phagotropic) protists, including: interactions with predators and prey; and adaptations to changing environments, evolutionary, and ecological implications of mixotrophy.
OCEAN 578 ADVANCED TOPICS IN BIOLOGICAL OCEANOGRAPHY. A special topics course offered during Summer Quarter at the Friday Harbor Laboratories.
SCHOOL OF OCEANOGRAPHY BREADTH REQUIREMENTS
Every graduate student is required to take a minimum of one 3-credit, numerically-graded, 500-level course from each option outside their own for a total of three courses and 9 credits (Ocean 510, Ocean 520, Ocean 540). The student may petition to substitute for one of these courses. The student is expected to complete this breadth requirement prior to receiving a Master's degree. The Academic Affairs committee will address any requests for waivers. The extent to which a student should take courses in other oceanography options or related fields beyond this minimum will be decided by the student’s advisory or supervisory committee and the student.
CONCURRENT DEGREES and OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
