The deep sea, areas of the ocean below 200 meters, is the largest biome on Earth‐‐vast, remote, and inhospitable. These conditions create unique challenges for deep‐sea life and the scientists who study it. The challenge of studying this expansive and extreme ecosystem also makes it ripe for new discoveries and allows us as scientists to challenge the paradigms of life on Earth and beyond.
You can be part of this discovery and learn about the deep oceans until your heart and soul are content. The course will apply concepts from biology, biochemistry, ecology, and conservation sciences to the study of the deep‐sea. The undergraduate- and graduate-level course (3‐credit) is June 7‐26, 2020 at LUMCON’s DeFelice Marine Center in beautiful Cocodrie, Louisiana. Students will experience aspects of both field and laboratory settings including:
- Working aboard research vessels for both shallow‐ and deep‐water sampling
- Collecting and identifying invertebrates
- Engaging with both historical and modern views of the deep ocean
- Using large databases to test ecological hypotheses
- Utilizing analytical software
- Measuring community structure using diversity metrics
- Managing a project from the generation of hypotheses through to a final product
- Constructing a strong social media campaign to engage general audiences in deep‐sea science
The great news is that the course is relatively inexpensive and there is a lot of scholarship funds available. For more course details, course application, or scholarship application visit https://lumcon.edu/2020-summer-courses/
