This module will introduce you to the extensive variety of marine organisms across various key marine ecosystems, spanning from plankton in surface waters to coral reefs and mangroves in shallow tropical seas, and further encompassing fish and mammals in the deep ocean. It will provide you with in-depth insights into these marine habitats, followed by a more focused view on the biology of the organisms, exploring their interactions with each other and the surrounding environment.

 

Lectures: Module and assessment introduction; Circulation and tides in coastal waters; Diversity of coastal communities; Pelagic organisms and food webs; Seabirds; Estuaries; Coral Reefs; Mangrove ecosystems; Deep Sea organisms and communities; Marine Mammals; Polar ecosystems; Fish diversity and adaptation; Macroalgae

Practice Part: We will focus here on approaches to public engagement with topics in marine biology. In the practice sessions you will reflect on presentation skills/formats and public outreach. You will prepare a plan for your audio-visual presentation, including chosen topic, most important points of information to be presented and the format/medium of presentation, which could be screened on a loop in a visitor centre/museum setting. This will be presented to the group for feedback.