Units: 4
Prerequisites: None
Acceptable for Credit: CSU, UC
Lecture 3 hours, laboratory 3 hours.
Course Typically Offered: Fall, Spring

This general education life science course introduces basic biological concepts in the context of learning about life in the ocean. The course emphasizes organismal diversity, how animals have adapted to the physical environment and anthropogenic impacts on the ocean including fisheries sustainability. The laboratory portion of the course combines classroom investigation with field exploration and emphasizes the scientific method, current research in the field of marine biology and the development of field sampling techniques. Students attend local field trips.