Marine Ecology (BIOEB305) – Comprehensive Course & Fieldwork Orientation

Teaching Team & Background

Hazel (Course Convenor, Senior Lecturer at Hamilton campus)
- Specialisation: Benthic ecology in soft-sediment and (recently) sub-tidal systems.
- Core research interests:
- Behavioural controls on sediment processes.
- Ecosystem functioning & delivery of ecosystem services.
- Nutrient recycling proxies (sediment ↔ water-column fluxes).
- Multi-stress “wicked problems” & soft-sediment habitat restoration (bivalves & seagrass).
- Field locations mentioned: Nelson seagrass beds; intertidal work dominates; occasional cold-water dives.
Dr Megan Ranapia (Tauranga campus – Research Fellow)
- Fresh PhD graduate (shellfish restoration – Ōhiwa, Bay of Plenty).
- Integrates Western science with Mātauranga Māori; strong community/cultural monitoring focus.
Dr Claire Shelem (Technical Officer, Tauranga)
- MSc: Red Sea coral-reef fish communities & ecosystem-service delivery (KAUST, Saudi Arabia).
- PhD: Climate-change impacts on Fjordland (Doubtful Sound) rocky-reef & benthic communities – starfish focus.
- Will run/assist Tauranga labs and join all fieldwork.

Why Dedicate a Full Paper to Marine Ecology?

Oceans are under unprecedented anthropogenic pressure; understanding processes is critical for conservation & management.
Public often fixates on charismatic megafauna (whales, dolphins, sharks), but course emphasises whole-system perspective— abiotic drivers ↔ microbes ↔ invertebrates ↔ fish ↔ megafauna.

Five Key Global & NZ Issues (Course “Spine”)

Fishing impacts
- Over-extraction & quota issues; high seas governance gaps (EEZ vs international waters).
- Destructive gear (e.g.
  bottom trawls & dredges) ≈ underwater “ploughs”:
  • disrupt biogeochemical cycles,
  • destroy benthic structure,
  • slow or no recruitment → long recovery times.
- Technological advances = exploitation of deeper, slow-growing, low-fecundity stocks.
Terrestrial inputs (sediment & nutrients)
- NZ’s steep topography + agriculture ⇒ major runoff; visible sediment plumes (photo from Taranaki flight).
- Effects: ↑ turbidity → ↓ photosynthesis → altered primary production; smothering/capping; potential anoxia/hypoxia.
- Gulf of Mexico “dead-zone” heat maps illustrate hypoxic red zones.
- Solution space demands land-sea connectivity in management.
Invasive species & Biosecurity
- Vectors: ballast-water discharge & hull-fouling from expanding global fleet.
- Case studies:
  • Exotic Caulerpa (single-celled but mats like seaweed) – rapid fragmentation & carpet-forming → sediment capping.
  • Sabella spallanzanii (Mediterranean fan-worm) – dense filter-feeding colonies.
- Once established, eradication is extremely difficult due to pelagic larval dispersal; out-compete native biodiversity.
Climate change & Ocean acidification
- Warming waters → poleward range shifts (tropical spp. into far-north NZ).
- Ice-melt ⇒ sea-level rise → loss of intertidal habitat.
- Ocean acidification ("climate change’s evil twin"): $\text{pH} = -\log_{10}[H^+]$ ; small pH drop (log scale) dissolves CaCO₃ (calcite/aragonite) shells → oysters/molluscs divert energy to shell maintenance ≠ growth.
Multi-stressor “Wicked Problems”
- Stressors act synergistically, not additively; vary by embayment/region.
- National Science Challenge "Sustainable Seas" tackled cumulative-impact tools, but solutions still emerging.
- Managers need mechanistic science to peel back layers and design effective mitigation.

Prerequisites & Incoming Skills

Required: Principles of Ecology.
Highly beneficial: Introductory Oceanography & 1st-year Statistics.
Essential mindset: curiosity, critical thinking, willingness to up-skill.

Learning Outcomes (LO)

LO1 – Explain processes regulating marine community structure & function.
LO2 – Design & execute field sampling; evaluate study design; apply multiple sampling methods.
LO3 – Analyse & interpret data; choose appropriate statistical tools; craft evidence-based narratives.
LO4 – Contextualise human impacts; develop experimental designs to untangle complex drivers.
Transferable skills: critical thinking, problem-solving, data manipulation (graphs, stats), scientific writing & synthesis.

Course Road-Map (14-week Trimester)

Scene-setting & community-ecology refresher.
Benthic ecosystems (hard / soft shores).
Survey, monitoring & experimental-design methodologies.
Meta-populations & community-structure shifts.
Open-ocean drivers & global processes.
Marine management focus – especially fisheries science.

Delivery Logistics

Lectures
- Thursday: Hazel, in-person Hamilton + live Teams to Tauranga.
- Friday: Megan, live Tauranga + stream to Hamilton.
- Slides posted in advance; Panopto uploads delayed (~≥1 h) because Teams→OneDrive→Panopto workflow.
Laboratories (start Week 2)
- Hamilton: RG-12 (basement, R-Block).
- Tauranga: TCBD-211.
- Not weekly; consult Course Outline for dates.
- Early labs = scaffolded stats & data-handling; later labs = autonomy on field-trip datasets.
Attendance
- Paper is NOT distance-learning; in-person labs & field trip are compulsory.
- Correlation: physical attendance ↔ higher achievement.

Field Trip – Te Apūro Point & Pilot Bay

Mandatory Two-day trip (no overnight).
- Dates: 26 & 27 July (Sat–Sun).
- Groups swap sites:
  • Day 1: Tauranga students → Soft-shore (Te Apūro) with Hazel; Hamilton → Rocky-shore (Pilot Bay) with Megan.
  • Day 2: Groups switch.
Tidal context: mid-afternoon (~14:30–15:00); late starts (≈10:00 departures) & late returns (plan nothing before 18:30-19:00).
Exercises feed directly into two major lab reports (18 % × 2).
On-day paper quiz (short) per exercise.
Transport survey & H&S/Emergency-contact form on Moodle – complete by 21 July.

Equipment Checklist

Waterproof layers; warm clothes (winter).
Booties / wetsuit boots / sand-shoes for mud; avoid gumboots (suction).
Second set of dry footwear & socks.
Hat, sunscreen, reusable water-bottle, packed lunch.
Pen/pencil, waterproof notebook, ID guides, camera/phone for quadrat photos.
Stay ≤ ankle-deep; monitor swell on rocky shore.

Assessment Weighting (Internal 60 % + Exam 40 %)

Written Assignments 44 %
• Data-analysis lab task (initial).
• Rocky-shore report 18 %.
• Soft-sediment report 18 %.
Quizzes 12 % (three Moodle quizzes + field-trip paper quizzes).
Lab/field participation & minor submissions complete internal tally.

Academic Integrity & AI Tools

Turnitin compulsory; includes AI-content detection.
No direct copy-pasting or unedited AI-generated prose.
Allowed: use AI for brainstorming, but final submission must be original, fact-checked, correctly referenced (plagiarism penalties apply).

Recommended Core Texts & Wider Reading

Nybakken & Bertness – “Marine Biology: An Ecological Approach”.
J.S. Levinton – “Marine Biology: Function, Biodiversity & Ecology”.

Any edition acceptable; library holds hard-copies; e-books where available.
Lectures = primers → you must extend with peer-reviewed literature to aim for high grades.

Communication Channels

Email preferred for quick queries:
• Hazel: (E2.13, Hamilton) 07-838-4383.
• Megan: (Tauranga) — note part-time schedule ⇒ slower replies.
Drop-in welcome; book meeting for extensive help.
Teams chat during lecture; Panopto discussion boards optional.

Class Representative

One rep per campus (Hamilton & Tauranga).
Role: gather cohort feedback; attend 2 × meetings/trimester; constructive liaison.
Register via online form (link on slide/Moodle); looks great on CV.

Key Takeaways for Exam Prep & Career Readiness

Marine systems face intertwined stressors; holistic, multi-scale thinking is essential.
Field competence + statistical literacy + critical synthesis = sought-after skill-set in science, resource management & consulting.
Engage actively (lectures, labs, fieldwork) to internalise concepts and practise real-world ecology.