Image

 ![Coastal research landscape used as the Northmoor University hero image.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2026-01/camilo-botia-k4vFDPJoDZk-unsplash.1600x1200.jpg.avif?itok=ujHvC8nC)

 

 



Course code

MBIO 350

 

Course credit

1.00

 

Examines the structure and function of coral reef ecosystems: the coral-algal symbiosis, calcification and its sensitivity to carbonate chemistry, reef trophic structure, and the physical processes that determine reef distribution.

The disturbance material occupies the second half. Bleaching, disease, storm damage and predator outbreaks have all been studied on reefs for long enough that the recovery literature is substantial, and the course examines it critically. The assumption that a disturbed system returns toward its previous state is examined against evidence that a substantial proportion do not, which connects directly to work on temperate shores at Prentice.

The course is taught from the literature and from long-term datasets. No field component.



Instructors

[Dr. Aisha Tanaka](/person/dr-aisha-tanaka)

 

 

Prerequisite

MBIO 210, or permission of the instructor.



 

Terms offered

spring

 

 

Offering frequency

alternate years