MSMS 6024 & 6025 : Transdisciplinary Approaches to Coral Reef Science - Field Course & Quantitative and Communication Skills
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Course Info & Textbooks
Transdisciplinary Approaches to Coral Reef Science
MSMS 6024: Australia Field Course
MSMS 6025: Quantitative and Communication Skills
Summer 2022
MSMS 6024 (Summer I): Tropical coral reef ecosystems and the communities that depend on them face unprecedented pressure from climate change and other anthropogenic stressors. Proactive management and novel techniques are urgently needed to counteract the degradation of these ecosystems. As a response to the shortage of broadly trained, transdisciplinary coral reef scientists, this advanced science experience in far-north Queensland, Australia will develop a systems-based approach to target student training in a range of disciplines related to coral reef science and conservation. The field portion of this class will last for 3 weeks in Queensland, Australia, where students will have the unique opportunity to interact with experts in a range of fields, including, but not limited to, ecology, biogeochemistry, physiology, animal behavior, molecular biology, and environmental social science. Students will first learn about socio-ecological resilience and anthropogenic impacts on natural systems at the School for Field Studies (SFS), Centre for Rainforest Studies (CRS) in the Atherton Tablelands (7 days), the only place in the world where two UNESCO World Heritage Sites meet (Daintree Rainforest and Great Barrier Reef). The group will then travel to the Lizard Island Research Station (LIRS), a state-of-the-art, island-based research facility in the northern Great Barrier Reef (14 days), where students will learn from and be guided through independent research projects by a diverse group of American and Australian coral reef scientists. Through lectures, class work, field immersions, and independent projects, these ASIs will engage students in hands-on research that fosters a transdisciplinary understanding of coral reef ecosystems. Students will engage in predeparture activities related to coral reef science in Australia, cultural history and current socio-economic challenges facing coral reefs, science communication, and developing the independent study topic.
MSMS 6025 (Summer II): Coral reefs are iconic ecosystems that provide goods and services to millions of people worldwide and support tremendous biodiversity. Modern coral reef science encompasses broad scientific fields, including biology, geology, chemistry, and physics. This wide-ranging research field requires a transdisciplinary effort to understand these complex ecosystems, especially in the context of local and global anthropogenic change. Cross-disciplinary training and collaboration is key to the success of coral reef science and conservation efforts. This pioneering program will teach students how holistic approaches are critical to addressing human impacts on ecosystems while preparing them to address the next big-picture scientific problems. Following students’ return from the Australia field trip, this course will focus on statistical analyses, data interpretation, scientific writing, and presentation skills. This course will culminate in a Virtual Student Research Symposium attended by scientists from across the USA and collaborators in Australia, providing a public platform for students to showcase their ideas and research.
Required Textbooks:
Materials & Resources:
- Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2019“Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2019”, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Authority. Available here: https://elibrary.gbrmpa.gov.au/jspui/handle/11017/3474. (Summer I)
The Great Barrier Reef by
The iconic and beautiful Great Barrier Reef (GBR) Marine Park is home to one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. With contributions from international experts, this timely and fully updated second edition of The Great Barrier Reefdescribes the animals, plants and other organisms of the reef, as well as the biological, chemical and physical processes that influence them. It contains new chapters on shelf slopes and fisheries and addresses pressing issues such as climate change, ocean acidification, coral bleaching and disease, and invasive species. The Great Barrier Reefis a must-read for the interested reef tourist, student, researcher and environmental manager. While it has an Australian focus, it can equally be used as a reference text for most Indo-Pacific coral reefs. Key Features: Exciting and contemporary account of the issues that face the world's most complex marine ecosystem. Examines the diversity, physiology, ecology and conservation of coral reefs in one volume. Written by leading authorities on the biodiversity of the GBR as well as its position as an icon for monitoring global warming. Beautifully illustrated. marine ecosystem. Examines the diversity, physiology, ecology and conservation of coral reefs in one volume. Written by leading authorities on the biodiversity of the GBR as well as its position as an icon for monitoring global warming. Beautifully illustrated.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9780367174286Publication Date: 2019-01-15
A Reef in Time by
Like many coral specialists fifteen years ago, J. E. N. Veron thought Australia's Great Barrier Reef was impervious to climate change. Owned by a prosperous country and accorded the protection it deserves, it would surely not go the way of the Amazon rain forest or the parklands of Africa, but would endure forever. That is what I thought once, but I think it no longer. This book is Veron's Silent Spring for the world's coral reefs.Veron presents the geological history of the reef, the biology of coral reef ecosystems, and a primer on what we know about climate change. He concludes that the Great Barrier Reef and, indeed, most coral reefs will be dead from mass bleaching and irreversible acidification within the coming century unless greenhouse gas emissions are curbed. If we don't have the political will to confront the plight of the world's reefs, he argues, current processes already in motion will become unstoppable, bringing on a mass extinction the world has not seen for 65 million years.Our species has cracked its own genetic code and sent representatives of its kind to the moon - we can certainly save the world's reefs if we want to. But to achieve this goal, we must devote scientific expertise and political muscle to the development of green technologies that will dramatically reduce greenhouse emissions and reverse acidification of the oceans.
Call Number: QE566.G7 V47 2008 (OCL)ISBN: 9780674026797Publication Date: 2008-01-31- A Reef in Time by
Like many coral specialists fifteen years ago, J. E. N. Veron thought Australia's Great Barrier Reef was impervious to climate change. Owned by a prosperous country and accorded the protection it deserves, it would surely not go the way of the Amazon rain forest or the parklands of Africa, but would endure forever. That is what I thought once, but I think it no longer. This book is Veron's Silent Spring for the world's coral reefs.Veron presents the geological history of the reef, the biology of coral reef ecosystems, and a primer on what we know about climate change. He concludes that the Great Barrier Reef and, indeed, most coral reefs will be dead from mass bleaching and irreversible acidification within the coming century unless greenhouse gas emissions are curbed. If we don't have the political will to confront the plight of the world's reefs, he argues, current processes already in motion will become unstoppable, bringing on a mass extinction the world has not seen for 65 million years.Our species has cracked its own genetic code and sent representatives of its kind to the moon - we can certainly save the world's reefs if we want to. But to achieve this goal, we must devote scientific expertise and political muscle to the development of green technologies that will dramatically reduce greenhouse emissions and reverse acidification of the oceans.
Call Number: QE566.G7 V47 2008ISBN: 9780674026797 (ASL)Publication Date: 2008-01-31
The Reef: a Passionate History: the Great Barrier Reef from Captain Cook to Climate Change by
Stretching 1,400 miles along the Australian coast and visible from space, the Great Barrier Reef is home to three thousand individual reefs, more than nine hundred islands, and thousands of marine species, and has alternately been viewed as a deadly maze, an economic bounty, a scientific frontier, and a precarious World Heritage site. Now the historian and explorer Iain McCalman takes us on a new adventure into the reef to reveal how our shifting perceptions of the natural world have shaped this extraordinary seascape. Showcasing the lives of twenty individuals spanning more than two centuries, The Reef highlights our profound desire to conquer, understand, embrace, and ultimately save the world's most complex ocean ecosystem. Opening with the story of Captain James Cook, who sailed unknowingly into the southwest entrance of this vast network of coral outcroppings, McCalman shows how Cook spent months navigating this treacherous underwater labyrinth, struggling to keep his crew alive and his ship afloat, sparring with deceptive shoals and wary native islanders. Through a series of dramatic tales from intrepid explorers, unwitting castaways, inquisitive naturalists, enchanted artists, and impassioned environmentalists who have collectively shaped our ideas about the Great Barrier Reef, McCalman demonstrates how this grand natural wonder of the world was built as much by human imagination as by the industrious, beautiful creatures of the sea. A romantic, historically significant book and a deeply personal journey into the heart of a marine environment in peril, The Reef powerfully captures the delicate relationship between humanity and the natural world.
Call Number: DU280.G68 M44 2014 (OCL)ISBN: 9780374535346Publication Date: 2015-05-12
A Primer in Biological Data Analysis and Visualization Using R by
R is the most widely used open-source statistical and programming environment for the analysis and visualization of biological data. Drawing on Gregg Hartvigsen's extensive experience teaching biostatistics and modeling biological systems, this text is an engaging, practical, and lab-oriented introduction to R for students in the life sciences. Underscoring the importance of R and RStudio in organizing, computing, and visualizing biological statistics and data, Hartvigsen guides readers through the processes of entering data into R, working with data in R, and using R to visualize data using histograms, boxplots, barplots, scatterplots, and other common graph types. He covers testing data for normality, defining and identifying outliers, and working with non-normal data. Students are introduced to common one- and two-sample tests as well as one- and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlation, and linear and nonlinear regression analyses. This volume also includes a section on advanced procedures and a chapter introducing algorithms and the art of programming using R.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9780231166997Publication Date: 2014-02-18- A Primer in Biological Data Analysis and Visualization Using R by
R is the most widely used open-source statistical and programming environment for the analysis and visualization of biological data. Drawing on Gregg Hartvigsen's extensive experience teaching biostatistics and modeling biological systems, this text is an engaging, practical, and lab-oriented introduction to R for students in the life sciences. Underscoring the importance of R and RStudio in organizing, computing, and visualizing biological statistics and data, Hartvigsen guides readers through the processes of entering data into R, working with data in R, and using R to visualize data using histograms, boxplots, barplots, scatterplots, and other common graph types. He covers testing data for normality, defining and identifying outliers, and working with non-normal data. Students are introduced to common one- and two-sample tests as well as one- and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlation, and linear and nonlinear regression analyses. This volume also includes a section on advanced procedures and a chapter introducing algorithms and the art of programming using R.
Call Number: QA276.45.R3 H37 2014ISBN: 9780231166997Publication Date: 2014-02-18
Writing Science by
As a scientist, you are a professional writer: your career is built on successful proposals and papers. Success isn't defined by getting papers into print, but by getting them into the reader's consciousness. Writing Science is built upon the idea that successful science writing tells a story.It uses that insight to discuss how to write more effectively. Integrating lessons from other genres of writing with those from the author's years of experience as author, reviewer, and editor, the book shows scientists and students how to present their research in a way that is clear and that willmaximize reader comprehension.The book takes an integrated approach, using the principles of story structure to discuss every aspect of successful science writing, from the overall structure of a paper or proposal to individual sections, paragraphs, sentences, and words. It begins by building core arguments, analyzing why somestories are engaging and memorable while others are quickly forgotten, and proceeds to the elements of story structure, showing how the structures scientists and researchers use in papers and proposals fit into classical models. The book targets the internal structure of a paper, explaining how towrite clear and professional sections, paragraphs, and sentences in a way that is clear and compelling. The ideas within a paper should flow seamlessly, drawing readers along. The final section of the book deals with special challenges, such as how to discuss research limitations and how to writefor the public.Writing Science is a much-needed guide to succeeding in modern science. Its insights and strategies will equip science students, scientists, and professionals across a wide range of scientific and technical fields with the tools needed to communicate effectively.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9780199760237Publication Date: 2011-11-29
- MSMS 6024 (Summer I):
- Understand the role of social-ecological factors in coral reef conservation;
- Develop an inter- and transdisciplinary understanding of coral reef science through field-based training and lectures in a range of disciplines, including biogeochemistry, behavioral ecology, ecophysiology, molecular biology, environmental social science, population & community ecology, virology, climate change ecology, and chemical sensor technology; and
- Obtain practical scientific skills and expand the scientific network through the implementation of independent field projects.
- MSMS 6025 (Summer II):
- Apply skills in data management, statistical analysis, and data interpretation to data collected for the independent project during the field course;
- Gain scientific communication skills in a range of modalities by writing a report summarizing research findings and presenting the project during a presentation at the end of each ASI during a student symposium.
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