Registration

For spring 2024, the Marine Lab will offer courses in a block schedule format. The block schedule will be available the first week of October. Students register for one course per block.

Travel Courses: The Marine Lab expects to offer spring travel courses, as appropriate, based on local, regional, national and international standards for COVID-19. Travel course locations may change. See the schedule below for travel course offerings as they are confirmed. Visit our Travel page for course details and registration information. 

Dates

To view the upcoming spring semester dates, please visit the Academic Calendar.

Tentative 2024 Block Dates: 
Block A: January 10 - February 8 (no class on January 15, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day)
Block B: February 9 - March 8
Spring Break: March 8 (7 pm) - March 17
Block C: March 18 - April 9
Block D:  April 10 - May 3

Spring 2024 Courses

Download a copy of the Spring 2024 Block Schedule here >

ENVIRON 504A MARINE PROTECTED AREAS 

  • Instructor: David Gill
  • Credit: 3 units (3 semester/credit hours) 
  • Course Travel: No

An interdisciplinary course that addresses concepts, issues, and approaches relevant to marine protected area (MPA) management and their impacts on marine ecosystems and coastal people. Course will address key topics in MPA design, management, and how context and management shapes MPA design and outcomes. This course will focus on sensitive marine ecosystems (e.g. coral reefs, mangroves, seagrasses) and resource-dependent communities involved in fishing and tourism. Using real world case studies, students will apply introduced concepts and quantitative approaches to questions on MPA design and evaluating MPA social and ecological impacts. Students will engage with the course material primarily through group discussions, problem sets and lectures.

ENVIRON 512A.  DEEP-SEA SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 

  • Instructor: Cindy Van Dover
  • Credit:1.0 course (3 units for graduates)
  • Course Travel: No

Deep-Sea Science and Environmental Management explores ecosystems in the deep sea, including fundamental aspects of geology, chemistry, and biodiversity; behavioral, physiological and biochemical adaptations of organisms (primarily invertebrate, but may include microbial and vertebrate components) to deep-sea benthic and bentho-pelagic environments will be introduced; students will gain an understanding of the ecosystem services of the deep sea; issues in deep-sea environmental management arising from exploitation of deep-sea resources will be discussed.

ENVIRON 528SA. COMMUNITY-BASED MARINE CONSERVATION - TRAVEL COURSE TO MEXICO

Experiential education course on community-based conservation. Students learn first-hand about the challenges (accomplishments, failures, and promises) involved in its design and practice in developing countries of high biological diversity. Learn about the unique natural and political history, and social characteristics of the places where conservation takes place. Students link local context to broader perspectives through key readings and class discussions.

ENVIRON 551DA INTERNATIONAL CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

  • Instructor: Lisa Campbell
  • Credit: 3 units
  • Course Travel: No

    Interrelated issues of conservation and development. Topics include the evolution of the two concepts and of theories regarding the relationship between them, the role of science, values, ethics, politics and other issues in informing beliefs about them, and strategies for resolving conflicts between them. While attention will be given to all scales of interaction (i.e. local, regional, national, international), the focus will be on international issues and the `north-south’ dimensions of the conservation and development dilemma. Examples from marine and coastal environments will be highlighted. Consent of instructor required. 

ENVIRON 571A. URBAN TROPICAL ECOLOGY -   TRAVEL COURSE TO SINGAPORE

  • Instructors: Dan Rittschof, Tom Schultz
  • Credit: 1.0 course (3 graduate units) 
  • View Course Travel Costs and Policies:   Information for 2024 will be updated by October 2023

  • The mix of human ecology, tropical diversity, disturbed habitats and invasive species in Singapore. How Singapore maintains and enhances the quality of life of its citizens while radically modifying its environment. Research on politics, management or biology. Consent of instructor required. If travel is not possible in spring 2022, a domestic version of this course will be made available. t. 

ENVIRON 705A. SOCIAL IMPACT ANALYSIS 

This course will explore theoretical, methodological and applied aspects of social impact analysis (SIA).  Many environmental professionals become involved in social impact analysis during their careers on a recurring basis.  Forms of SIA are a mandated component of key oceans and environmental policies, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (National Standard 8).  Moreover, sound social impact analysis is an important and powerful tool for good environmental planning in marine and coastal systems whether or not it is required by law, relates to government action, or is focused on the United States

Generally speaking, SIA addresses the social impacts of events or actions.  The events or actions that precipitate an SIA include such things as planned physical or environmental changes, the implementation of policies or regulations, or conservation interventions.  SIAs can be post hoc, where SIA seeks to understand the impacts of a past event, or ex ante, where SIA seeks to predict the impacts of an event.  SIA can also be used to monitor and adapt to ongoing events and actions.   In all cases, however, good SIA should involve all potentially affected groups, should consider impact equity and differences by location and socio-economic status, and should consider a holistic and contextually grounded range of impacts, from the socio-cultural to the economic.

This course will first develop an understanding of some of the core concepts and applicable sociological theory upon which the design of social impact analysis is built.  The first part of the course will develop the capacity to ‘think sociologically’ about environmental problems and the impacts that they create.  Next, we will review some of the key US policies and guidelines that require and inform SIA.  The third part will provide an overview of some of the key methods and approaches that are used in SIA to generate more inclusive decisions that protect the environment and integrity of the communities that share its abundance and meaning.  Throughout we will review and critique a range of US and international SIA examples.

ENVIRON 726DA. MARINE MAMMAL GENOMICS 

Current sequencing technologies have revolutionized the fields of molecular, evolutionary, and ecological genetics. The ability to generate an entire genome worth of sequence data in a single instrument run allows us to study whole genomes in a variety of non-model organisms. In this course, we will use the genomes of marine mammals to explore the field of genomics.  The course will start out with basic genomics (ie. Genome-101), move on to sequencing technologies and bioinformatics, and then explore conservation, ecological and evolutionary genetics of marine mammals using the literature and publicly available datasets.

ENVIRON 784LA. MARINE BIOACOUSTICS

Instructor: Doug Nowacek

Credit: 4 units 

Course Travel: No

Fundamentals of marine bioacoustics with a focus on current literature and conservation issues. Topics include: introduction to acoustics; acoustic analysis methods and quantitative tools; production and recording of sound; ocean noise; propagation theory; active and passive acoustics; hearing, sound production and communication in marine organisms, potential impacts of anthropogenic noise; and regulation of marine sound. Labs will focus on methodologies used for generating, recording and analyzing marine sounds. Taught in Beaufort at Duke Marine Lab. Prerequisite: introductory biology, or consent of instructor; Physics 141L or 164L (or equivalent Physics courses) or consent of instructor.

ENVIRON 735A. DRONES IN MARINE BIOLOGY, ECOLOGY, AND CONSERVATION

Includes a full overview of past and emerging applications for ecology and biology of marine species and coastal habitats, with in depth discussion on future of drone applications in coastal biological and ecological research. Comprehensive exploration of current drone technologies, including detection of target species, payloads, aeronautical concepts, rules and regulations, mission planning, aircraft design, maintenance, data collection, management and analysis. Lab components tailored to student interests: active participation in megafaunal or environmental research and data analysis; building, operating and maintaining aircraft, programming for manual and autonomous flight. Taught in Beaufort at Duke Marine Lab.

ENVIRON 772LA COASTAL RESTORATION ECOLOGY  

  • Instructor: Carter Smith
  • Credit: 4 units 
  • Course Travel: No

This course provides an introduction to restoration ecology and ecological restoration. We will explore the major ecological theories that guide restoration ecology as well as the unique considerations and techniques needed to restore the world’s dominant coastal ecosystems (e.g., saltmarshes, seagrass beds, coral reefs, etc.), and we will conclude by focusing on challenges and opportunities for ecosystem restoration in the 21st century. Students will participate in lectures, discussions, and field trips. 

ENVIRON 773LA. MARINE ECOLOGY - TRAVEL COURSE - 2024 LOCATION TBD

Factors that influence the distribution, abundance, and diversity of marine organisms. Course structure integrates lectures, field excursions, lab exercises and an independent project. Lecture topics include physical characteristics of marine systems, adaptation to environment, species interactions, biogeography, larval recruitment, and biodiversity and conservation of communities found in rocky shores, tidal flats, beaches, marshes, mangrove, coral reefs, and subtidal areas.

ENVIRON 777A. BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION OF SEA TURTLES - TRAVEL COURSE TO ST. CROIX & PUERTO RICO

  • Instructor: Matthew Godfrey & Kelly Stewart
  • Credit: 3 units
  • View Course Travel Costs and Policies:  Information for 2024 will be updated by October 2023

    Essential biology of sea turtles (evolution, anatomy, physiology, behavior, life history, population dynamics) and their conservation needs; emphasis on their role in marine ecosystem structure and function. Basic ecological concepts integrated with related topics including the conservation and management of endangered species, the contributions of technology to the management of migratory marine species, the role of research in national and international law and policy, and the veterinary aspects of conservation.

ENVIRON 778LA. COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY & BEHAVIOR OF MARINE ANIMALS 

  • Instructors:  Josh Osterberg
  • Credit: 4 credit hours
  • Course Travel: No
  • Prerequisites: Introductory Biology and Chemistry

Environmental factors, biological rhythms, and behavioral adaptations in the comparative physiology of marine animals.

ENVIRON 778LA BIODIVERSITY OF MARINE INVERTEBRATES

  • Instructor:
  • Credit: 4 units
  • Course Travel: No

An introduction to the biodiversity represented by major marine invertebrate groups, with emphasis on the diversity of body forms and behaviors and on anatomical structures and functions. Field trips primarily by boat allow students to explore invertebrates characteristic of a variety of coastal habitats in North Carolina, including mud flats, sandy beaches, salt marshes, oyster reefs, piers and docks, and the water column. Live invertebrates maintained in the laboratory serve as models for detailed study of form and function. Taught in Beaufort at Duke Marine Lab.

ENVIRON 876A DATA AND TIME SERIES ANALYSIS 

  • Instructor: Jim Hench
  • Credit: 4 units
  • Course Travel: No

Analysis of environmental time-series and other data sets. Topics include discrete sampling issues, data rejection and interpolation, coordinate rotations and principal axes, curve fits, regression, error and propagation of uncertainty, bootstrapping, filtering, spectral analysis, harmonic analysis, EOFs, wavelets. Lectures, workshops and homework assignments will apply these methods to environmental data sets. Each student will complete a final project, applying methods covered in class to data sets they choose, as part of or related to their research. Taught in Beaufort at Duke Marine Lab. Consent of instructor required.

 

Questions?

For help with graduate course registration, email Katie Wood (katie.wood@duke.edu).