Courses

Biology of Marine Mammals

This lecture class introduces undergraduate and masters students to the biology of cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians and sea otters.  Andy teaches the class in the fall term at the Duke University Marine Laboratory, with video-links to main campus in Durham. The course is divided into three sections:  (1) adaptations to an aquatic existence; (2) behavior and ecology; and (3) conservation and management.

Biology and Conservation of Sea Turtles

Wendy Dow Piniak and Matthew Godfrey co-teach this field course on the biology of sea turtles, covering their evolution, anatomy, physiology, behavior, life history and population dynamics; the class emphasizes the role of sea turtles in marine ecosystem structure and function. Basic ecological concepts are integrated into issues related to the conservation and management of endangered species, the contributions of technology to the study of migratory marine species, and the role of research in national and international law and policy.  Undergraduate and masters students are able to interact directly with resource managers, community conservationists, fishermen and other stakeholders and gain first-hand experience with field assessment methods.  You can read more about the course through the class blog.

Marine Conservation Biology

This intensive, experiential capstone field course is taught in the first block of the spring term.  The class is designed for second-year students in our Coastal Environmental Management program and is taught entirely in Hawaii.  In 2014 we will spend a week on Oahu, meeting with managers, scientists and stakeholders before traveling to Kauai, where we spend a second week focusing on the conservation of monk seals.  Learn more by reading  Marine Conservation Biology in Hawaii blog and viewing students Videos at the Nicholas School’s YouTube channel.

Current Topics in Marine Conservation

This is a required course for Ph.D. students in the Marine Science and Conservation Division that Andy co-teaches with Xavier Basurto.  The class is designed to introduce students working in the natural sciences to concepts, theory and literature from the social sciences and vice-versa.  In 2013 we tackled the concept of ecological baselines in the field of marine conservation.  Each week a pair of students (one from the natural and one from the social sciences) introduces a paper for discussion. We hope to produce a publishable manuscript that describes our survey across these disciplinary boundaries.