Teaching    

MARB 435 - Marine Invertebrate Zoology

This course covers approximately 20 different phyla of invertebrates as well as some important protozoan groups. It gives an overview of the diversity, morphology, evolution and ecology of each taxon. The labs focus on local fauna and include field trips to the Galveston groins, oyster reefs and mud flats. Students also have the opportunity to perform bottom trawls and benthic grabs in Galveston Bay on one of the university vessels. Additional voluntary field trips are offered.

Students learn how to identify invertebrates on the Galveston groins.

 Trawling for invertebrates in Galveston Bay.

 Sieving sediment from mud flats for invertebrates.

MARB 668: Marine Evolutionary Biology

Graduate course with lectures, readings, and discussions on advanced evolutionary topics, including history of evolutionary thought, molecular and organismal evolution, evolutionary methods, and modern applications, with an emphasis on marine organisms. Students lead and participate in journal club style discussions of selected recent literature and produce a literature review, grant proposal or popular science article as a semester assignment.

MARB 689: Caribbean Marine Biology

Graduate course which covers the natural history of the Caribbean region with a focus on shallow-water habitats, current environmental concerns and conservation efforts, as well as practical aspects of conducting marine biological field work in the Caribbean region. Students write a grant proposal for marine biology fieldwork as a semester assignment.