Biological Oceanography

From great white sharks to the smallest bacteria, discover how the ocean’s aquatic environment shapes and is shaped by the life within it.
Teacher: Georgina Botka

In every cubic millimeter of seawater, there are about a million microbes. There is life in every part of the ocean, from the surface waters to 11,000 m deep on the seafloor, even under the ice in the Arctic and Antarctic seas.

We live on "Earth", a synonym for dry land. The name, though, fails to capture the single defining feature of our planet -- the oceans. We're used to focusing our eyes on what we can see around us day by day, paying little attention to unchartered territory. The oceans occupy about 71% of the Earth's surface, and have a volume 300 times larger than what our planet's land and freshwater, combined, can provide for life.

In this course, we will aim to develop an appreciation for the incredibly diverse biota found in saltwater environments, including shallow subtidal regions, estuaries and salt marshes, hydrothermal vents, mangroves, and the open ocean. Emphasis will be placed on how life in the ocean interacts with its physical environment, which is in turn influenced by such factors as weather, currents, nearby shores, and volcanoes. We will also examine how humans interact with the oceans and what our responsibilities are to protect them. Along the way you will learn how to interpret real-life data, read original research, and by the end of the summer, you'll never watch an ocean documentary the same way again!

For the application...

Prerequisites

1 year of high school chemistry. Some biology recommended but not required.

Relevant experience

Any chemistry, biology, or earth science classes or activities, including watching documentaries or reading scientific magazines.

Application Question (Core-specific free response)

Please respond to all parts of the following question. The question requires no knowledge of biological oceanography, only your thinking skills.

A) Fill in the missing number in the table. Show your work.

B) Gills are “fish lungs”. Fish use them to oxygenate their blood. Oxygen is required, among other things, to move muscles, e.g. for swimming. Below is a short description of the fish species in the table. Using only this information, suggest the reasons for the different gill surface area to body mass ratio of each.

Clown Triggerfish:
Lives on tropical coral reefs in the Indian and Pacific Ocean. It is a vigorous carnivore with strong jaws and sharp teeth to help in hunting sea urchins, small fish, and invertebrates. In an aquarium, it is usually very aggressive towards other fish. Flashlight fish:
Gets its name from a special organ that houses light-emitting bacteria. Mostly lives in very deep in the ocean, where it feeds on small shrimp-like animals. Yellow Tang:
Mostly abundant around Hawaii, it lives in shallow coastal waters. This species is herbivorous – only eats algae found on rock or corals. Sometimes it may nibble on pieces of dead shrimp.

C) Why do you think the gill surface area to body mass ratio is better to use to compare the rate of oxygen consumption by these fish than gill surface area alone?