OCS 4570 Coral Reef Ecology: Past, Present & Future (3)

Prereq.: BIOL 1201 and BIOL 1202 (or equivalent). Introduction to the complexity, sensitivity, and dynamism of the ‘rainforests of the sea’: coral reef ecosystems. Exploration of coral reefs through time, including biotic and abiotic interactions, factors contributing to reef construction and decline in time and space, the influence of symbioses on reef health and function, and threats and challenges to coral reefs in an uncertain future.