Colleagues:
Summer course: Marine Botany
Where: Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington
When: July 25-August 26, 2009
Instructors: Dr. Charles O’Kelly cjaokelly@gmail.com <http://cjaokelly@gmail.com>
Dr. Paul Gabrielson drseaweed@hotmail.com <http://drseaweed@hotmail.com>
For Whom: Graduate students and advanced undergraduate students (juniors, seniors).
Application Deadline: 1 February 2011
Course Summary:
The theme of the course is “principles, methods, and applications of marine algal biodiversity studies”, in particular the macro-
and microalgae of benthic environments. This is a hands-on field and laboratory intensive course. Students will learn classical
and contemporary methods to characterize, identify and classify algae; the theories underlying the methods; application of biodiversity
information in research (e.g. benthic ecology, cellular evolution), regulatory (e.g. invasive species) and industrial (e.g. biofuels)
settings. Students will gain practical experience in tools that are applicable worldwide, such as: specimen collection,
preservation, and databasing; light and electron microscopy; DNA isolation and sequencing; computational approaches to phylogeny
reconstruction. Field work will be extensive, as the diverse and species-rich aquatic habitats on and around San Juan Island are ideal for
the examination of both macroalgal and microalgal diversity.
Course structure: Lectures offered Mon. through Sat., 2 lectures/day except Saturday and on days with field work. Extensive lab time
emphasizing tools and techniques to identify, culture and curate algae collected from natural field populations, including DNA extaction,
amplification, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Numerous field trips to various marine and brackish water habitats around San Juan I.
and to the exposed, outer coast. Book for the course is: Keys to the Seaweeds and Seagrasses of British Columbia, Southeast Alaska,
Washington and Oregon by Gabrielson, Widdowson & Lindstrom (2006). Enrollment limited to 12.
Financial Aid: Available from the Friday Harbor Labs (see WEB address below). For graduate students who are members of the Phycological
Society of America, travel funds are available to attend a course at a biological station: http://www.psaalgae.org/soc/croasdale.shtm <http://www.psaalgae.org/soc/croasdale.shtm>
For more information about the course, financial aid, and the Friday Harbor Laboratories, visit the
FHL home page: http://depts.washington.edu/fhl/ <http://depts.washington.edu/fhl/>
