Course Description
A hands-on, experiential laboratory experience that includes a clinical necropsy of a marine mammal specimen, museum and laboratory tours, and field site visits on the Georgia coast.
Athena Title
Marine Mammals Lab
Non-Traditional Format
This course is only offered as a field course during Maymester and must be taken with Biology and Conservation of Marine Mammals. The lab component consists of a mandatory 1-week, off- campus trips to government and academic sites in Charleston, S.C. and Savannah, GA. that play important roles in the study and conservation of marine mammals.
Prerequisite
BIOL 1104 or (BIOL 1108 and BIOL 1108L) or (BIOL 2108H and BIOL 2108L)
Corequisite
ECOL 3220
Semester Course Offered
Offered summer semester every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
• Have a general knowledge of empirical methods to study organic and inorganic contaminants and emerging diseases in the marine environment • Have an enhanced understand of the paleontology and evolution of marine mammals • Have a general knowledge of the unique characteristics of the Georgia coast and estuarine system and the marine mammals that live in or travel near it • Have a general understanding of the reasons for and practices of the marine mammal stranding network
Topical Outline
• Tour of NOAA Marine Mammal Life History facility to learn about stranding and recovery procedures and disease monitoring efforts • Tour of National Ocean Service Marine Mammal Tissue Bank to learn about and observe research on emerging diseases and their effects on both marine mammals and humans • Curator-guided tour of the Mace/College of Charleston Museum of Natural History to observe original skeletal material and reconstructions of ancient ancestors of current marine mammals • The natural history of the Georgia coast • A behind-the-scenes tour of the aquarium at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography • An on-water survey of marine mammals to collect data on bottlenose dolphin abundance and distribution around Wassaw Island • Monitoring the annual North Atlantic Right Whale migration and birthing season along the Georgia coast • Learn practices and procedures of the marine mammal stranding network