ST. PETERSBURG
COLLEGE
APPROVED
COURSE OUTLINE
OCB 1000C BIOLOGY
OF MARINE LIFE ············ 3
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A. Course Description:
Prerequisite: (ENC 0020 and REA 0002) or EAP 1695, and MAT
0024, or appropriate scores on the SPC placement tests. Biology of Marine Life
is designed to provide the non-science major student with an understanding of
basic biological principles using marine organisms as examples. The focus is on
functional interactions at the cellular, organismal and community levels. The laboratory component will apply concepts
through direct observations and experiments using the diversity of organisms in
and from our local marine environment. (This course may not be taken for credit
subsequent to receiving a grade of “C” or better in any course with a BSC
prefix.) Five hours weekly.
B. Major Learning Outcomes:
1. The
student will describe the unity among all life forms in their cellular
structure, chemical and energy requirements and their ability to reproduce,
develop and respond.
2. The
student will design and analyze experiments using scientific methods.
3. The
student will explain the basic energy processes within organisms.
4. The
student will compare and contrast energy flow within the individual organism
with energy flow in the ecosystem.
5. The
student will compare the influences of genetics and environment on population
growth and survival.
6. The
student will outline the evolution of diversity in marine life paralleling
changes in time and environment.
7. The
student will identify and describe major marine groups in the sea and correlate
each with its specific niche.
8. The
student will assess and analyze human impact on the marine environment and its
inhabitants.
C. Course Objectives Stated in Performances
Terms:
1. The
student will describe the unity among all life forms in their cellular
structure, chemical and energy requirements and their ability to reproduce,
develop and respond.
The
student will:
a. Identify
prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
b. Describe
those characteristics common to all life, including cellular structure;
metabolism; reproduction and inheritance; growth (mitosis) and adaptibility.
c. List
and explain the construction and function of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins
and nucleic acids.
d. Associate
major organic compounds with the nutrient cycles in the sea.
e. Recognize
the necessity of ATP and DNA to survival and reproduction of cells and
organisms.
f. Compare
and contrast organisms from a plankton tow according to:
1) prokaryotic vs. eukaryotic
2) cellular features, size
3) producer vs. consumer
4) behavior (eg. taxes)
2. The
student will design and analyze experiments using scientific methods.
The
student will:
a. Design
investigations: setting up hypotheses,
predictions based on those hypotheses and controlled experiments to test them.
b. Demonstrate
understanding of dependent and independent variables; graphing techniques and
rudimentary data analysis.
c. Enumerate
and explain the necessities and advantages of thorough, accurate data-keeping
when conducting experiments or recording from the environment.
d. Gather
pertinent bibliographies and information on studies being done by local marine
research agencies.
3. The
student will explain the basic energy processes within organisms.
The student will:
a. Explain
photosynthesis in basic terms, then relate it to the importance of primary
productivity in the sea.
b. Explain
cellular respiration, its reactants and products.
c. Compare
photosynthesis and cellular respiration, including the reciprocity of
components and the molecules used by each process for transferring energy.
d. Devise
feasible experiments to test and monitor parameters such as compensation depth
in a marine environment/laboratory.
4. The
student will compare and contrast energy flow within the individual organism
with energy flow in the ecosystem.
The student will:
a. Recognize
the relationship between adequate energy production (or intake) and maintenance
of homeostasis within an organism.
b. Demonstrate
an understanding of the flow of energy through a food chain in a marine
ecosystem.
c. Link
the length of a food chain and numbers at each trophic level with primary
productivity and nutrient levels.
d. Exhibit
proficiency in proposing, preparing and executing experiments designed for
determining primary productivity in the ocean or laboratory.
5. The
student will compare the influences of genetics and environment on population growth and survival.
The student will:
a. Compare
meiosis to the basic reshuffling of genetic variables that promotes diversity
in a population.
b. Use
genetic principles to explain how
changes in allele frequencies can be influenced by changes in abiotic
factors.
c. Correlate
the rate of population growth with compatability between genetic requisites and
environmental availability.
d. Understand
how terms such as eurythermal, euryhaline, and osmoregulation relate to
survival in different areas in the sea.
e. Associate
the better understanding of the concept of a species with genetic research such
as race studies in fish schools and gel electrophoretic identification of
proteins.
f. Design
experiments demonstrating survival rates and acclimation of estuarine organisms
to variation in temperature and salinity.
6. The
student will outline the evolution of diversity in marine life paralleling
changes in time and environment.
The student will:
a. Explain
evolution in terms of natural selection.
b. Describe
the changes in the marine environment with geologic time and how this has
effected the kinds and abundance of marine organisms.
c. Demonstrate
a knowledge of the main marine environments, including the photic zone, benthic
zone, intertidal zone, estuary and the coral reef.
d. Compare
marine environments using physical, chemical and geological characteristics as
determining factors for their biotic communities.
e. Identify
and appropriately use equipment for describing and testing environments, including
a salinometer, a refractometer, an
oxygen meter, secchi disk, pH meter, graded sieves, Nansen bottle or
equivalent, reversing thermometer, plankton net, seine, and trawl or dredge.
7. The
student will identify and describe major marine groups in the sea and correlate
each with its specific niche.
The student will:
a. Distinguish
among the major representatives of the Monera, Protista, Plantae and Metazoa in
the sea.
b. Demonstrate
an understanding of adaptations in structure, life cycle and development of
select organisms well enough to place those organisms in their particular
niche.
c. Use
biramous keys to identify common local marine plants and animals.
d. Design
and perform experiments with quadrant sampling over time to study ecosystems in
local marine environments.
8. The
student will assess and analyze human impact on the marine environment and its
inhabitants.
The student will:
a. Review
the balance in marine communities in general and discuss the preservation and
maintenance of a healthy coral reef (eg. Florida Keys) in conjunction with use,
growth, construction and shipping.
b. Describe
the impact of commercial fisheries, mariculture and marine pollution on the
ecological balances in the marine environment both locally and globally.
c. Analyze
existing or design new experiments to be performed locally to scientifically
assess the effects of change (such as dredging, mangrove cutting, turbidity,
sea wall location, eutrophication) on local marine communities.
D. Criteria Performance Standard:
Classroom measures developed by individual instructors will be used to measure student achievement of the above stated objectives at a 60 percent minimum level of competency.
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C&I
2/25/97; DBT3/18/97 |
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Effective
19963. |
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SCNS.Eff
20011. |
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