Coral Reef Ecology Course Syllabus Course Number MarS 226 Course Title Coral Reef Ecology Academic Semester Spring Semester Start Date Jan 24 2016 Class Schedule Sunday Thursday 8am 5pm Academic Year Semester End Date May 19 2016 2015 2016 Classroom Number TBD Instructor s Name s Email Teaching Assistant name Email Office Location Building 2 Office 3221 Office Hours by appointment Michael Berumen michael berumen kaust edu sa COURSE DESCRIPTION FROM PROGRAM GUIDE This course will cover coral reef distributions biogeography and ecological processes important to reefs Basic coral anatomy and physiology will be discussed Reef fishes and their interaction with coral communities will be highlighted along with coral reef fisheries Modern threats to coral reefs including thermal bleaching ocean acidification and diseases of corals will be examined with particular emphasis on processes affecting the future status of reef communities COMPREHENSIVE COURSE DESCRIPTION This course will focus on several aspects of the ecology of coral reef ecosystems This includes coverage of coral reef distributions biogeography and ecological processes important to reefs Basic coral anatomy and physiology will be discussed Reef fishes and their interaction with coral communities will be highlighted along with coral reef fisheries Modern threats to coral reefs including thermal bleaching ocean acidification and diseases of corals will be examined with particular emphasis on processes affecting the future status of reef communities GOALS AND OBJECTIVES Students should gain a working knowledge of the current state of research in the aforementioned areas Provided that logistic arrangements can be made there will be some emphasis placed on field skills and sampling methodology REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE MarS 221 is a prerequisite for this course REFERENCE TEXTS The Biology of Coral Reefs Sheppard Davy and Pilling Coral Reef Fishes Sale Coral Reef Guide Red Sea Lieske and Meyers Other texts as assigned by the instructor METHOD OF EVALUATION Percentages Graded content 30 20 Class Participation This is a graded component of the course and includes in class discussions and attendance contribution of literature for the course etc Assignments This includes presentations made to the class and reading assignments COURSE REQUIREMENTS Assignments The course may include assigned reading from textbooks and from primary literature literature searches on assigned topics presentations to the class based on readings or other research and or a written assignment Course Policies Attendance is mandatory to all lectures Participation is a significant component of the grade As a block course students are expected to be available at any time and on short notice during the block period Any anticipated absence should be cleared with the instructor by written email notification as early as possible Students with approved absences are responsible for catching up on the materials from their classmates Additional Information It is strongly preferred that communications are via email For urgent issues the instructor may be reached by phone number will be provided to the class NOTE The instructor reserves the right to make changes to this syllabus as necessary