Training the NEXT generation of marine conservationists
Written by George Bevan
This course forms part of foundational knowledge required to become a scientific diving. In order to effectively help conserve our ocean ecosystems we must equip ourselves with the skills to be able understand and assess their health and the threats affecting them, so that we can make informed choices on how best to take action. … Continue reading “Why take this course?”
Written by Scott
As you will recall from the Ecological Monitoring Program Course, corals are part of the phylum called Cnidaria, along with the hydroids (Hydrozoa), and jellyfish (Scyphozoa and Cuboza). Sea anemones, soft corals, corallimorphs, and zoanthids make up the class Anthozoa alongside the hard corals, which are known as the order Scleractinia. The order has gone … Continue reading “Introduction to Coral Famalies and Genera”
Written by Scott
Learning the substrate survey will help you to view the reef in a more objective way, instead of seeing the reef as a single state, you will be able to infer the history and project the future state of the reef after only a single visit In this lesson you will learn how to assess … Continue reading “The Substrate Survey”
Written by Scott
“The most conspicuous animals on the reefs are the fish, like us, they are a part of the chordate phylum. Fish are our distant cousins, which could explain why divers have such an attraction to them” In this lesson we will introduce you to the last animal phylum, the Chordates. This phylum includes all animals … Continue reading “Fish Indicator Species”
Written by Scott
Invertebrate phyla are the most diverse and abundant on Earth, they are the ancestors of all higher life, and the first to evolve many of the body parts we take for granted. In this lesson you will learn about The evolution of invertebrates the phylogenic tree of lie The importance of many invertebrate indicator species … Continue reading “Invertebrate Indicator Species”
Written by Scott
Learning the methods and techniques for monitoring will help you further understand reef relationships, and how to view the reef in a more objective way. For monitoring programs like the EMP, data is collected on the ecology of ocean ecosystems using what are called indicator species. These are species which tell us something about the … Continue reading “Collecting Data Along a Transect Line”
Written by Scott
While we can learn about the various themes in ecology and evolutionary biology in any ecosystem, coral reefs are one of the best places to observe and study these interactions. This is because coral reefs are one of the planet’s oldest, most diverse, and most productive ecosystems. With 8-9 million species living in them, everybody … Continue reading “Introduction to Coral Reef Ecology”
Written by George Bevan
This course is designed to give experienced divers an opportunity to learn about temperate coastal ecosystems and perform a surveys in order add to data sets used to progress research and monitoring efforts By increasing awareness and involvement, we can decrease our impacts on the oceans and provide solutions to protecting and restoring degraded coastal … Continue reading “Why take this course?”
Written by Scott
This course is designed to give experienced divers an opportunity to learn about ocean ecosystems and perform a surveys in order add to data sets used to progress research and monitoring efforts By increasing awareness and involvement, we can decrease our impacts on the oceans and provide solutions to protecting and restoring degraded coastal ecosystems … Continue reading “Why take this course?”