rykaczewski lab logo  
Rykaczewski STEM Outreach

MSCI 210

MSCI/BIOL 450

MSCI 758/576; BIOL 757/576

MSCI 210: Oceans & Society
(about 205 students per section)

Course Description:
Oceans and Society provides students with an opportunity to explore the world of oceanography, marine biology, and conservation. As you will discover, oceanography is an interdisciplinary subject comprised of concepts and ideas from biology, meteorology, geology, chemistry, physics, anthropology, economics, political science, law, history, and many other disciplines. We use the oceans for food, energy, commerce, and materials; and the oceans play a major role in controlling climate. Understanding and applying the information and principles that we cover in this course are important for the future of humanity and all other life on our planet. By learning and applying basic concepts of environmental conservation, we will discover how we might better manage our oceans and our planet so as to provide a more pleasant and safe environment for ourselves and future generations.

MSCI/BIOL 450: Biological Oceanography
(about 50 students per section)

Course Description:
This course examines current concepts in Biological Oceanography. We will take an interdisciplinary look at the connections among populations, communities, and ecosystems and will endeavor to understand the interactions between these biological constituents and the physical and chemical components of the marine environment. After considering the microbial portion of the marine ecosystem (viruses, bacteria, phytoplankton, and their role in biogeochemical cycling), we will examine the role of zooplankton as consumers of primary production and as mediators of organic matter flux to the deep ocean. From there, we will discuss topics in food webs, fisheries oceanography, benthic-pelagic coupling, biogeography, and contemporary issues in ocean ecology-including human and climate influences on ocean biology and ocean observing systems.

MSCI 758/576; BIOL 757/576: Marine Fisheries Ecology
(about 30 students per section)

Course Description:
This course examines concepts in the field of Marine Fisheries Ecology, specifically the distribution, reproduction, survival, and historical variation of the principal commercial marine fisheries. Marine fisheries are a valuable source of food to the human population, and developing a scientific understanding of the dynamics of fisheries and their interaction with the broader ecosystem is essential for the prudent management of the resource. Here, we will take an interdisciplinary look at the processes which influence fisheries at a variety of scales, from the ambit of an individual larva to the response of communities to basin-scale climate variability. We will also discuss classical perspectives on fisheries ecology and fisheries management, quantitative methods of population assessment and modeling, and strategies for ecosystem-based fisheries management.

sampling ichthyoplankton sorting ichthyoplankton sorting menhaden