June – August, 2023
OIMB offers a variety of courses during the summer term. In addition to the eight week term, four week and two week courses and weekend workshops are available as well. Courses are open to qualified students from all institutions as well as those interested in continuing education. Normally, courses meet for at least seven hours a day and are designed for upper-division biology majors, environmental studies/science majors, and graduate students in these disciplines. The recommended course load for the eight-week session is 14 to 16 credits. All students registering for OIMB courses should fill out an application of admission (see application form link on the right) and, if needed, request room and board by email at oimb@uoregon.edu.
If you are a non-UO student, you will need to request a Personal Access Code (PAC) here to be able to register for classes.
BI 211, 212, and 213 (or equivalent) are prerequisites for the 8 week courses. Seminar, weekend workshops, and the 2-week course do not have prerequisites.
8 Week Courses (June 26 – August 18)
BI 451/551 INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY (8 quarter hour credits)
An introduction to the diversity of marine invertebrates e.g. all multicellular marine animals, except the vertebrates. What they look like (body plans & structure), how they work (functional morphology), where they live, their natural history and behavior (general ecology). Lectures will introduce organisms, explain their form & function, and include current views of evolutionary origins and phylogenetic relationships. Field trips will explore animals in their habitats and labs will allow careful study of living invertebrates, emphasizing form and function. Fulfills Area 2 major requirement. Meets 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with early release at 3:30pm for Wednesday seminar. Instructor: Josh Lord
Check out this video about the Summer Invertebrate Zoology course at OIMB! PDF version
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BI 455/555 MARINE BIRDS AND MAMMALS (6 quarter credits)
The Oregon coast has a diverse marine bird and mammal fauna and this course takes advantage of many opportunities to study the biology of the seabirds, seals, sea lions, and cetaceans of the region. Topics covered include systematics, ecology, social systems, morphology, evolution, and physiology. Extensive field trips including boat cruises offer opportunity to study the animals in their natural environment. Laboratory sessions use museum preparations and dissections of fresh specimens to study anatomical and physiological features. Students undertake group projects on nesting seabirds, and give presentations about marine birds and mammals. Meets 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. Instructor: Doug Warrick
Binocular information.
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BI 457/557 SEAWEED BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY (6 quarter credits)
This class provides an overview of seaweed biology, diversity, evolution, and ecology. Students will become familiar with the diversity of seaweeds in Oregon and learn to identify and prepare seaweed herbarium specimens. Fields trips to local intertidal and marina sites for collection, surveys, and observation will emphasize community structure and interactions. Assignments include field studies, reading and discussing scientific literature, student projects, seaweed anatomical and taxonomic studies, individual and group research. Meets 8:00am – 5:00pm Tues. and Thurs. Instructors: Christopher Wells and Kailyn Tonra
BI 407/507 MARINE BIOLOGY SEMINAR (1 quarter credit)
Guest speakers report on their research to students and staff. Seminars cover a wide variety of marine topics and provide students with an opportunity to meet marine scientists. Meets 4:00 p.m. Wednesdays.
4 Week Courses
June 26 – July 21
BI 457/557 DEEP-SEA BIOLOGY (5 quarter credits)
This course is an overview of the organisms, habitats and ecological processes occurring in deep-water systems on the continental shelf and slope, submarine canyons, seamounts, abyssal plains, methane seeps, hydrothermal vents and hadal trenches. Laboratory activities and field trips will strongly supplement lecture material and assigned reading; field work and projects will involve the collection and analysis of offshore trawl, dredge, core, ROV and camera sled data. Meets 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the first four weeks of summer term, June 26-July 21. Early release at 3:30pm for Wednesday seminar. Instructor: Craig Young
2 Week Courses
Course meet for two consecutive weeks.
August 21 – 25 and August 28 – Sept. 1
BI 399 INTRODUCTION TO EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND STATISTICS (4 quarter credits)
A course designed for upper-division undergraduates and graduate students that explores the principles of experimental design. The course draws heavily from professional literature discussing appropriate use of statistics in experimental studies including modeling of simple and more complex experiments and evaluation of appropriate analysis techniques. Lectures, practicals, and readings emphasize application of univariate designs in ecological studies. Meets 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Instructor: Brian Bingham
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Weekend Workshops
Courses meet all day Saturday and Sunday for two consecutive weekends
June 24-25 and July 1-2
BI 408/508 BIOLOGICAL ILLUSTRATION (2 quarter credits)
Shows how to produce accurate drawings of animals and plants suitable for reference, publication, or display. No prior experience is necessary. Techniques include pen and ink, pencil, scratch, and coquille board (sample illustrations). Meets 8:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. Instructor: John Megahan
Biological Illustration supply list.
Aug. 5-6 and Aug. 12-13
BI 408/508 MARINE BIOACOUSTICS (2 quarter hour credits) Underwater passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is an effective and widely-used tool for monitoring the occurrence and behavior of sound-producing marine organisms including marine mammals, fish, and invertebrates. In addition, PAM has applications for assessing marine biodiversity, habitat quality, and anthropogenic noise impacts. This course will introduce students to the physics of underwater sound and basics of signal processing, and will provide an overview of biological sounds and applications of PAM in marine ecological monitoring. We will gain hands-on experience by deploying hydrophones in local habitats, and we will work with our recordings as well as pre-existing data sets to learn analysis techniques using freely available bioacoustics software. Meets 8:00am – 5:00pm. Instructor: Lisa Munger
Questions: Email oimb@uoregon.edu
