This is a 1 credit seminar course to attend at least 10 research seminars of interest over the course of the semester. The goal is to introduce graduate students to the scale and scope of research being done in the field, provide examples of public presentation methods, build a sense of community and provide opportunities for informal mentoring and scientific discourse with peers and faculty at social events following the seminars. Students in the course are encouraged to attend seminars together, discuss the science, presentation style and effectiveness of communication by the speaker following seminars.

Anthropogenic climate change is a dominant driver of global change biology in the 21st century. Thanks to advances in computer modeling and earth observation, we now have access to a vast trove of global climate data, including hindcasts of historical climate, and projections for future climate change. As marine biologists, how can we navigate these enormous datasets and decide which (if any) are useful for our work, how were they generated in the first place, and what limitations should we be aware of if we want to integrate them into our research? Through a combination of lectures and practical computer labs, this 1-credit seminar will explore the answers to these questions. By the end of the seminar, you will be able to incorporate state-of-the-art climate data into your research, with a robust understanding of the advantages and limitations of the datasets you are using. The computer labs in this course will assume basic competency with Python; tutorials can be suggested for students with prior programming experience in other languages. Meeting details provided in syllabus.

Introduction to a broad range of theories and techniques from mathematical ecology with an emphasis on marine systems. Students will learn to assess model assumptions, construct simple models, and apply analytical methods to describe system behavior. Graduate students in MB, ZOOL, BOT, and OCN programs only. A-F only. Contact Instructor for scheduled clarification. Pre: one semester of calculus.

Ecology of Pelagic Marine Animals – University of Hawaii at Manoa
(3 Lec, 1 3-hr Lab) Ecology of pelagic animals including feeding, energetics, predation, and anti-predation tactics. Life-history strategies, vertical flux of materials, population dynamics, fisheries. Pre: consent.

(3 Lec, 1 3-hr Lab) Processes controlling the structure and function of benthic communities, including organism-sediment-flow interactions, sediment geochemistry, feeding strategies, recruitment, succession, and population interactions. OCN and MB majors only. Pre: consent.

In-depth introduction to the modern statistical methods necessary for analyzing biological/ecological data, including GLMs, GAMs, mixed models, ordination, etc. Students will learn how to perform these methods in R.