Biology Courses (BIOLOGY)

taught in Beaufort

95S.02 Climate Change and Ocean Systems. Sea Monsters and Mermaids in a Warming Ocean: The Science of Climate Change and its Effects on Coastal and Ocean Ecosystems.  Organisms are often exquisitely adapted to climate; in a rapidly changing climate, coastal and ocean ecosystems shift to different states resulting from processes occurring at many levels, including physiological responses within individuals, behavioral responses in populations, and complex interactions among species.  This course will challenge students to discover the underlying natural and physical science associated with media stories about climate change and marine systems.  Topic areas include changing polar ecosystems (polar bears to penguins), ocean dead zones, ocean acidification, sea level rise, ocean circulation, and lessons from paleoclimate changes and paleoocean ecosystem responses. Instructor: Van Dover. One course.