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Biology Department

Announcements

Registration for Summer 2013 and Fall 2013 classes is ongoing. Check out the two Biology courses offered on Nantucket and spend your summer studying in one of the most beautiful places in the state.

SEMINAR SERIES

Spring 2013

SUMMER 2013

Biology on Nantucket

The Biology Department offers two summer courses on Nantucket:

BIO 100 Coastal Ecology
This marine biology course serves as an introduction to field research methods and will familiarize students with the flora and fauna of the unique island of Nantucket.
Jul 14-27, 2013
Greg Beck
Summer 2013 Fact Sheet
Click here to access course syllabus from Summer 2011

BIO 306 Marine and Coastal Ecological Research
Supervised research on the adaptations and interactions of organisms of the beaches, salt marshes, sand dunes, and embayments of Nantucket.
Jul 28-Aug 10, 2013
Elizabeth Boyle
Summer 2013 Fact Sheet
Clcik here to access course syllabus from Summer 2012

Please click here for more information about the courses. fees, and application procedures.

FALL 2013

New Lab Course

BIO 365 Microbial Genomics Laboratory
This laboratory course, to be taken concurrently with Biol 335, Genomics, provides a hands-on, inquiry-based, laboratory experience for undergraduate science majors. A bacterial model, Enterococcus, will be used to explore the diversity of the bacterium and some of its genes; and to test hypotheses about disease virulence and horizontal gene transfer in bacteria. Students will isolate metagenomic DNA and bacteria from the environment and learn basic microbiological methods (bacterial culture, aseptic technique, gram staining) and molecular biology methods (DNA purification /quantitation, PCR, gel electrophoresis, DNA sequencing). In the final portion of the course, students will use bioinformatics tools to analyze their data and submit a final research paper.
Wednesdays 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
McCormack Building, 1-114
Michael Shiaris

Click here to access course syllabus.

CHECK OUT THE "SEAL CAM"

Seal cam is the first live streaming video camera to observe seals at a pupping and breeding colony on the east coast. The gray seal pupping camera on Maine's Seal Island officially went live January 16 with a dual purpose: gray seal research and the opportunity to reconnect the public with nature and a fascination with watching animals live in the wild. This project is a collaboration of the National Marine Fisheries Service (Woods Hole, MA, lab), with the National Audubon Society and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service which together manage the uninhabited Seal island in coastal Maine. Explore.org, a philanthropic organization and a division of the Annenberg Foundation, funded all the technical support, equipment, website support etc. for this project.

To read about what former PhD student and current instructor, Stephanie Wood, is doing with the seal cam, visit: http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/news/features/seal_cam/

To see what the seal cam is seeing, click here: http://explore.org/#!/live-cams/player/seal-pups-cam