Material:

• Evolution of the biosphere's metabolism and redox cycles
  redox metabolism
  ecosystem energy flow

• Primary productivity
  global distribution
  biological and physical control
  measurement techniques and problems

• Food web energy flow
  ecological efficiency
  metabolic measurements
  food web pathways
  energy budgets

• Biogeochemical cycles
  silicon
  sulfur
  carbon
  molecular oxygen
  phosphorus
  nitrogen
  Redfield ratio
  
  
• Phytoplankton
  size, morphology, motility
  photosynthesis, biological rhythms and clocks
  nutrient kinetics
  paradox of the plankton

• Microbial heterotrophs
  organic and inorganic substrates
  dispersal and colonization strategies
  symbiosis
  role in nutrient regeneration and organic production
  
  
• Epipelagic zooplankton
  buoyancy and mobility mechanisms
  herbivorous feeding mechanisms and strategies
  life cycles, reproductive strategies, ontogenetic vertical migration
  carnivorous feeding mechanisms and strategies
  sensory mechanisms

• Plankton population dynamics
  predator-prey interactions
  patchiness
  succession
  biogeography

• Epipelagic nekton
  buoyancy and mobility mechanisms
  feeding strategies, schooling
  migration patterns, sensory mechanisms
  reproductive strategies

• Marine mammals
  thermoregulation, diving physiology
  feeding mechanisms, echolocation
  reproductive strategies, migration patterns

• Marine reptiles and birds
  feeding mechanisms
  reproductive strategies and migration patterns

• Mesopelagic and bathypelagic biota
  feeding strategies, diel vertical migration
  bioluminescence
  general metabolism, pressure effects
  reproductive strategies

• Deep sea benthos
  body size and shape, mobility mechanisms
  animal-sediment interactions
  feeding mechanisms
  benthic redox cycles
  vertical distribution
  bioturbation, disturbance
  biotic interactions, succession
  reproductive strategies
  community diversity
  hydrothermal vent ecosystems
  
  
• Antarctic ecosystem and polar seas
  biochemical adaptations to temperature and freezing
  ice habitats
  life cycles and migrations
  food webs

• Continental shelf ecosystems
  geological history
  hydrography, upwelling
  pelagic-benthic coupling
  food webs
  meroplankton, larval strategies
  dispersal, migration, invasion
  stochastic events, expatriate transport
  gene flow, speciation
  biogeography

• Estuaries
  geology and hydrography
  circulation patterns, life cycles
  osmoregulation
  food webs

• Sedimentary intertidal ecosystems
  mud and sand communities
  respiratory adaptations and anoxia

• Multicellular plant communities
  macroalgae
  sea grasses
  salt marshes
  mangroves

• Rocky intertidal and subtidal communities
  zonation, morphological adaptations
  feeding strategies
  biotic interactions
  reproductive strategies, dispersal and settling behavior

• Reefs
  geological history, topography
  primary production, food webs
  feeding strategies
  morphological adaptations, coloration
  biotic interactions, symbiosis, niche partitioning
  behavior
  reproductive strategies

• Paleoceanography
  Precambrian
  Paleozoic
  Mesozoic
  Cenozoic
  influence of the industrial revolution
  history of the South Florida ecosystems

Assignments:
None

Grades:
Based upon 3 exams

Textbooks (recommended, not required):

Lalli, C.M. and T.R. Parsons. 1993. Biological Oceanography: An Introduction. Pergamon Press, 301 pp.

Longhurst, A.R. 1981. Analysis of Marine Ecosystems. Academic Press, 741 pp.

Fasham, M.J.R. 1984. Flows of Energy and Materials in Marine Ecosystems. Plenum Press, 733 pp.

Parsons, T.R., M. Takahashi and B. Hargrave. 1984. Biological Oceanographic Processes. Pergamon Press., Pergamon Press, 332 pp.

Levinton, J.S. 1982. Marine Ecology. Prentice-Hall, 526 pp.

Valiela, I. 1984. Marine Ecological Processes. Springer-Verlag, 546 pp.

Lerman, M. 1986. Marine Biology. Benjamin Cummings Publishing Co., 534 pp.

Longhurst, A.R. and D. Pauly. 1987. Ecology of Tropical Oceans. Academic Press, 407 pp.