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Natural History, Marine Biology, and Research
Instructor(s): Stuart
Thompson
Prerequisites: A spirit of adventure and a beginners mind.
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| Monterey Bay is home to the nation’s largest marine sanctuary and also home to Stanford’s Hopkins Marine
Station. This course, which is based at Hopkins, explores the spectacular biology of Monterey Bay and the artistic and political history of the region. The course focuses on issues of conservation, sanctuary, and stewardship of the oceans and coastal lands. We will meet with conservationists, filmmakers, artists, authors, environmentalists, politicians, land-use planners, and lawyers, as well as scientists and educators, to learn what is being done to appreciate, protect, and study the coastline and near-shore waters at local and national levels. We will take a look at the discipline of marine biology to discover the range of topics and methods of research it embraces and to help define some of the larger issues in biology that loom in our future. The course emphasizes interactions and discussions between individuals, groups, and our guests; it is a total immersion experience. We will be together all of the time, either at our base at the Belden House in Pacific Grove or hiking and camping in Big Sur. Students are expected to have read the several books provided as introductory material before the course begins, and each is also expected to become our local expert in an area such as plant identification, bird dentification, poetry, weather prediction, photography, history, ethnography, etc. The course requires an ndividual research project of your choice on a topic related to the general theme. Final reports will be presented at the last meeting of the group and may involve any medium, including written, oral, and performance media.
Note: This course will be held at the Hopkins Marine Station in the Monterey region, and housing will be provided
nearby. Transportation from campus to the housing site will be provided once students arrive on campus on August 31. Transportation to campus from the Belden House in Pacific Grove will be provided on September 19.
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| http://www.stanford.edu/class/biosci10sc
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| Stuart Thompson graduated from UC–Santa Barbara and eceived his doctoral degree from the joint program for zoology and physiology and biophysics at the University of ashington before coming to Stanford as a postdoctoral fellow. Professor Thompson then joined the faculty of the department of biology. His current research concerns the flow of information at synapses between neurons, intracellular signal transduction and Ca2+ homeostasis in neurons, and the physiology of neural stem cells.
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