Marine Field Research Methods

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

The ocean connects and affects us all, but faces many serious conservation challenges. Solving these problems requires data and evidence collected by scientifically rigorous methods. This field course will expose students to a wide variety of scientific methods used in marine and coastal science, both in the classroom at Georgetown and as part of a weeklong trip on the Research Vessel Garvin in South Florida. Students will explore a variety of habitats including the Everglades, mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs. Students will gain hands-on experience with methods including transect and quadrat surveys for measuring biodiversity, seine netting for coastal fish monitoring, and taking a variety of biological samples from sharks. In the classroom, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of different methods and discuss a variety of case studies of how the data they gather is used. Students will also do a semester-long course project using one or more of the methods we discuss in class, collecting data during our field expedition. ***NOTE: students will need to pay their own airfare for the required 5-night field expedition to Miami, FL that takes place during spring break (March 1-6); we will work with enrolled students to coordinate schedules of arrival and departure for the field component of this course; the remainder of costs including food and lodging will be covered by the E&S program