Marine Botany (BIOL 445), Spring 2024, Friday Harbor Laboratories

Spring 2024 ZooBot program

Instructors:                                                                            TA:

Dr. Thomas F. Mumford                                                     Alex Reyna

tmumford@uw.edu      @KaptnKelp                                  areyna52@uw.edu 

Course Description

Course Content: This is a 5-credit course in which you will be introduced to the sciences of phycology (the study of algae) and marine botany, with special emphasis on the marine algae of the Salish Sea.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this course, you will:

• Know the major lineages of algae and be able to place them in their evolutionary contexts.
• Be able to recognize ‘on sight’ the most common and prominent species of algae, seagrasses, and marsh plants present in the marine environments of the Salish Sea and know how to obtain correct identifications for other elements of the flora.
• Learn to make voucher specimens of marine algae by preparing 25 herbarium sheets of properly identified seaweed you have collected with “accession-ready” labels. All collection data will be entered into the FHL herbarium database.
• Know how the most common and abundant algae and seagrasses are built (their morphology) and how they reproduce, be able to explain how morphology and reproduction are used to identify algae and be able to explain how different patterns of morphology and reproduction help individual algae adapt to their environment.
• Have a broader context of knowledge of algae and seagrasses that you can apply to such topics as marine food webs, biodiversity, harmful algal blooms, algal aquaculture (including biofuels and restoration), and global climate change.
• Be comfortable using microscopes and studying fine detail of plants
• Understand the importance and skills needed to bring marine information to school children and interested adults
• Keep an effective and informative lab notebook detailing lab and field observations and experiments with organisms

Characteristics of Class Meetings: 

• The class will be centered in Lab 3 on the FHL campus. You will “live” in the lab for 10 weeks. Students will be assigned a lab space and the use of two microscopes and sea tables. Lectures are generally scheduled for the first hour of morning and afternoon sections and will be held on the FHL campus in either the Commons or Lecture Hall. Attendance in lectures and labs is strongly recommended. This class will be highly interactive with the instructor and TA, and labs will use fresh and materials that often will be available only on the day of the lab. Field trips are in integral part of the experience to understand the natural history of and diverse habitats in which marine algae are found, and to collect materials for further examination and identification.
• Students will perform an experiment measuring the growth rate of kelp plants over the time period of the quarter. Students will set up the experiment and collect data a group. Each student will prepare and submit a written lab report. In order to accommodate different skill levels, the instructors will help guide report preparation, and review and advise on drafts.
• By the midterm practical exam students will be expected to be able to identify and name 26 of the most common marine plants (Josephine’s 26). This will provide a basis for being able to communicate in the field and quickly perform ecological studies accurately.

Text, Readings, Materials:

Text:

We require that you purchase ($3.99) an app used for seaweed identification. “Seaweed Sorter” is available on the Apple Store https://apps.apple.com/us/app/seaweed-sorter/id1141691364 and on Android phones https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.seaweedsorterV2&hl=en_US&gl=US

We will be using INaturalist for recording your collections and field observations. This free app is available for iPhones at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/inaturalist/id421397028  and Android phones at phones at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.inaturalist.android&pli=1

If you do not have a mobile phone, contact Tom about arranging for a loaner.  Seaweed Sorted is written for the local flora and helps you identify many of the common species. We will also be using a more formal key (Grabrielson 2018, see below) that has ALL the seaweeds, and will be used to teach you morphology and terminology.

Text: 

We do not require a formal text, however we recommend this book as a mid-level text covering most of the subjects presented in the course. 

Algae (Fourth Edition)—by Linda E. Graham, James M. Graham, Lee W. Wilcox, and Martha E. Cook ISBN 978-0-9863935-3-2, eText only, available from https://www.ljlmpress.com/algae.html  

This book is also recommended as a high-level reference text if you plan on continuing the study of phycology. Make sure you get the second edition. $45-70 new in paperback. (not the one with the blue/orange cover) It is somewhat less expensive second-hand from places such as Abe Books and Amazon.

Hurd, C. L., P. J. Harrison,  K. Bishof, and C. S. Lobban. 2014.  Algae and Seaweed Ecology and Physiology  Cambridge University Press. Second Edition. xiv+551 pp.

Algae and Seaweed Ecology and Physiology will not be stocked in the FHL stockroom, so if you desire a copy, be sure to order it before you arrive.

If you want to have the definitive key for identification of local seaweeds, this can be purchased for about $25. We will place a group order during the first week of class. Some copies of this versions and earlier editions will be available in the classroom.

Paul W. Gabrielson and Sandra C. Lindstrom. 2018. Keys to the Seaweeds and Seagrasses of Southeast Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon. Phycological Contribution Number 9. PhycoID. iv + 180 pp.

Readings, lectures, lab exercise etc. will be available online (UW’s Canvas). Students will be expected to have lab handouts available during lab section, either as a printout or on a laptop, tablet, or other electronic device (recommended)

Materials: Be sure to read the Supplies2024 handout regarding clothing, camping gear, etc.

 For the Botany class please bring or purchase in the FHL stockroom:

1. Unlined lab notebook (lab notebook will be required),
2. Small waterproof (“Rite in Rain”) notebook for field work (one will suffice for all classes),
3. Watchmakers forceps, (which are available in stockroom),
4. Colored pencils,
5. Notebooks for lecture notes, and
6. 5 sheets of herbarium paper

Key dates:

Tuesday, April 23:                  First lecture exam; first practical exam

Wednesday, May 1:                Herbarium sheets

Wednesday, May 8:                Second (cumulative) practical exam

Wednesday, May 8:                Second (cumulative) lecture exam

Wednesday May 8                  Kelp growth report, lab notebooks due

Sunday, May 12                      Outer coast project due

Assessment (total 100 points):

• Midterm written exam 15%              Tuesday, April 23
• Midterm lab practical 10%                Tuesday, April 23
• Final written exam 20%                     Monday, May 8
• Final lab practical 10%                       Monday, May 8
• Lab Report (kelp growth) 5%             Monday, May 8
• Lab journal/notebook 15%                Monday, May 8
• Herbarium Sheets 5%                         Monday, May 1
• iNaturalist  5%                                     Sunday , May 12
• Outreach activities 5%                       Dates TBD and Open House
• Outer coast project 10%                    Sunday , May 12

Policies

This course is designed to maximize your learning of the subject matter and advance your skills through a variety of hands-on activities. All our policies are aimed at supporting these educational goals.

Communication will be by email, with an email list established for notifications. Please check your UW email regularly because assignment links will be sent to this email address. (There will be no excuses for emails not read!).

Exam Attendance. Exams are only offered on the scheduled dates and “make up” exams will not be offered.

Field Trips. Class field trips are an integral part of the course that are essential to many of the learning objectives. Attendance on these trips is strongly recommended.

Excused absences. Our attendance policies are flexible only under limited circumstances. Excused absences are religious holidays, pre-approved professional activities, injury or illness of student or family member. Verification of these events will be needed, and notification of anticipated absences should occur as early as possible prior to absence. All concerns related to COVID-19 exposures and subsequent quarantines will be handled by FHL's Operations Manager, Bernadette Holthuis (holthuis@uw.edu), and only students required to quarantine will have excused absences from the course.

Plagiarism & Academic Honesty

At the University level, passing anyone else's scholarly work, which can include: written material, exam answers, graphics or other images, and even ideas as your own, without proper attribution, is considered academic misconduct. It also includes using text written by a generation system as one’s own (e.g., entering a prompt into an artificial intelligence tool and using the output in a paper). Plagiarism, cheating, and other misconduct are serious violations of the University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478‐120). We expect that you will know and follow the UW's policies on cheating and plagiarism. For more information, see the College of the Environment Academic Misconduct Policy.

Generative AI

Generative AI is a rapidly growing tool that you will be expected to use judiciously in your future workplaces. As you know, using generative AI carelessly deprives you of the opportunity to train your brain to be more critical and creative. In other words, it counteracts the purpose of your education and wastes your time and resources. Using it thoughtfully can (but is not guaranteed to) help you produce better work. The class AI policy is an extension of the academic conduct policy and is designed to help you develop the most important skills of an education: critical analysis, communication, collaboration, and metacognition. To that end: (1) you are required to acknowledge in all your work explicitly if and where and how you used any generative AI tools (e.g., I used XXX to help generate the first draft of the Introduction; I used XXX to help refine my English in the Methods section); (2) you are entirely responsible for the quality and integrity of your work; (3) you may not use AI of any kind for quizzes, tests, or exams, unless otherwise specified. Regardless of whether you used AI in an assignment, you bear full responsibility and accountability for your work. Work containing weak arguments, vague statements, or muddled syntax is likely to earn a low or failing grade. Work appearing to lack academic integrity (including but not limited to plagiarism, mis-attribution, or fabrication) will be addressed under the UW Student Conduct Policy. “It was written by AI” is not an excuse for poor quality or integrity. If you choose to use generative AI, use it as a tool for good. (From: Mar Wonham)

Disability Accommodations

It is crucial that all students in this class have access to the full range of learning experiences.  At the University of Washington, it is the policy and practice to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. Full participation in this course requires the following types of engagement:

Lecture: the ability to attend twice-daily lectures of ca. 60 minutes each, with up to 20 other students.

Lab: the ability to attend twice-daily lab sessions of up to 3 hours, including handling live plants and marine animals, using microscopes, recording observations by hand in a notebook.

Field Trips: the physical conditioning and ability to participate in field trips ~twice per week, including boat trips, hiking on steep trails and clambering over rocks on the shore.               

If you anticipate or experience barriers to your learning or full participation in this course based on a physical, learning, or mental health disability, please immediately contact the instructor to discuss possible accommodation(s).  A more complete description of the disability policy of the College of the Environment can be found here. If you have, or think you have, a temporary or permanent disability that impacts your participation in any course, please also contact Disability Resources for Students (DRS) at:  206-543-8924 V / 206-543-8925 TDD / uwdss@uw.edu e-mail / http://www.uw.edu/students/drs.

Religious Accommodations

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/).”