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The Marine Biology Association (MBA) is 125 years old and has spent much of this time researching the world's largest, and arguably most important ecosystems. This field course, run by researchers at the MBA Plymouth serves as an introduction to the deep ocean, and the coastal shores upon which we rely so much for food, and which are more important than rainforests for absorbing carbon from the atmosphere.听
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The field course combines a series of lectures, practicals, and field trips that gives an introduction to marine ecology from the very small phyto- and zooplankton which sit at the bottom of the food chain, all the way up to the larger organisms such as cuttlefish and octopus.听
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Practicals in previous years have included hands on experiments on animal behaviour using hermit crabs and cuttlefish; field trips to gather seawater to examine the extraordinary diverse and sometime bizarre life that can be found in upper strata of the oceans; and a field trip along the rocky shore to investigate zonal patterns of flora and fauna, and find out how organisms deal with sharp changes in salinity and temperature as the tide ebbs and flows.
Wellington boots are required.