James Cook University Subject Handbook - 2023

MB3050 - Biological Oceanography

Subject Description

This subject examines plankton and their interactions with the physical and chemical environment. Thematically we explore the following: structures in the ocean, sampling equipment and oceanography; nutrients, productivity, phytoplankton and upwelling; planktonic consumers in the sea as well as their distributions, behaviour and life cycles, jellyfish fisheries, the survival of larval fish to recruitment and relevance to fisheries; impacts and manipulation of plankton, global climate change, pollution and applications for aquaculture.

Learning Outcomes

• to give a sense of the complex structure of the planktonic community over the full scale of variation across space, time and body size
• to give the student a new conceptual understanding of the ocean as a fabric of living organisms, rather than as a mere water mass
• to impress upon the student the fundamental significance of the plankton as the foundation of the economy of the sea and the nursery for most of its species
• to provide a practical familiarity with the techniques of plankton sampling, identification and analysis

Subject Assessment

• Written > Essay (including multi-draft) 1 - (15%) - Individual
• Written > Field report - (20%) - Individual
• Examination (centrally administered) 60%, Online Test/Quiz 5% - (65%) - Individual

Note that minor variations might occur due to the continuous subject quality improvement process, and in case of minor variation(s) in assessment details, the Subject Outline represents the latest official information.

Assumed Knowledge:  Students enrolling in this subject should have a good understanding of basic biological principles (eg BS1001) and marine systems (eg MB2050) and should have completed either SC2202 or SC2209 and MB2050 or equivalents.

Inadmissible Subject Combinations:  MB5055 AND MB3059

Availabilities