Introduces the biology of marine organisms from the cellular level to the community. Covers cell structure and function, inheritance and genetic variation, the evidence for evolutionary change, and the major groups of marine life. Laboratory sessions cover microscopy, dissection, specimen identification and the design of a controlled experiment.
The course carries a double duty. It must be complete enough that a student who takes nothing further has learned something durable, and it must prepare the majority who will continue into the marine sequence. It resolves this by concentrating on arguments rather than on catalogs of names: why cells are understood to precede organisms, what evidence supports common descent, and what would count against it.
One laboratory session is held at Prentice Coastal Field Station. Attendance at the field session is required.