NR 370 Coastal Environmental Ecology

Overview of Course

Coastal environments are under increasing pressure from growing human populations, as nearly 15% of the world’s population lives within a few miles of a coastline. Development, climate change, pollution and exploitation and extraction of marine resources have resulted in declining environmental quality in nearshore areas. In this class, we will use our voyage from tropical to temperate seas, and across ocean basins to learn about the ecological importance of diverse coastal ecosystems including wetlands, coral reefs, mangroves, kelp forests, seagrass beds, sandy and rocky intertidal shorelines. For each coastal ecosystem, we will examine their structure and ecological function, learn how human activities and development have impacted these environments, and discuss potential remedies to environmental degradation. Lectures, place-based readings, port excursions, and class discussions will be used to better understand the environmental challenges (including socioeconomic, political, and cultural considerations) faced by the coastal communities we travel to. This will allow comparisons to be made across the ports we visit, developing a more global environmental perspective.