Coral Reef Ecology

Instructor: Dr. Moninya Roughan University of California, San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography Room 2147 Sverdrup Hall 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, CA 92093-0218 Phone: (858) 822 4926 Fax: (858) 822 0562 E-mail: mroughan@ucsd.edu

NOTE: Diving certification is not necessary to enroll in this course, but is recommended. For SCUBA-certified (PADI, NAUI, or SSI certified) students who will be diving, there is a $100 Lab Fee with this course which covers dive tank, air and dive weight rental. Students with SCUBA certification are expected to bring their own BC, regulators, and proof of certification.

Course Description

This course will consider both the physical and biological aspects of coral reef ecology. Lectures and field trips will be used to cover the ecologically relevant aspects of geology and oceanography, review the organisms living on the coral reefs, and to consider the overall interactions of the organisms with each other, as well as with their physical environment. We will also look at the effect of various environmental factors (global warming, runoffs, over fishing, etc.) on the overall health of coral reefs. Additionally, students will be exposed to a number of field and laboratory research techniques used in coral reef ecology, and they will be expected to participate in an independent and original research project. As part of their research training, students will also be expected to review and critique a number of published articles.

Readings

Assignments relating to lecture topics will be made from the texts and supplementary research articles provided in the library.

Required Texts

Formal Lecture Topics

Physical Parameters

• Geology
  • Panama and formation of coral reefs
• Oceanography
  • Seawater chemistry
    • Distribution of biologically relevant components of seawater and their effect on productivity of coral reefs
  • Seawater physics
    • Waves, currents, and their effect on physiology, anatomy, and distribution of various organisms found on the reefs
  • Circulation
  • Tidal and density driven flows

Biological Parameters

• Ecology
  • Review of general concepts of ecology with emphasis on coral reefs as the basis of marine tropical ecosystems
• Organisms I
  • Survey of major groups of organisms that live on coral reefs (phyla and classes), with review of their overall biology and relative importance to their ecosystems
• Organisms II
  • Survey of specific species found on the reefs around the laboratory (Genus species). This will include algae, invertebrates, and vertebrates.

Threats to the reef