An Interdisciplinary Course Team-Taught by
Ken Cline, Helen Hess, and Chris Petersen

Tropical Marine Ecology teaches students how to conduct biological research and policy work in the real world. It is either taught as a single class, or combined with courses in conservation and policy to create a set of courses addressing common themes. The course begins with classroom examination of key topics including the natural history and ecology of tropical marine life, fisheries, and other marine ecology issues. Either during the course or at mid-term, the class travels to Tobago or another tropical coastal region for several weeks of fieldwork. In Tobago, students' findings are contributing to solutions for a region on the brink of development. In collaboration with Tobago's Buccoo Marine Trust, the class has developed a monitoring protocol for tropical fish on coral reefs. Students also have made recommendations for sustainably managing local fisheries, conducted fish surveys of Marine Protected Areas, studied nesting seabird colonies, and assisted Save Our Sea Turtles, a local nonprofit, with data analysis and web pages. "We work in places that have people on the ground who need our help," says Chris Petersen, who co-teaches the class with Helen Hess.