Instructor: Rose Petrecca
Rutgers Marine Field Station, Tuckerton, NJ

Telephone: 609-296-5260 x238
E-mail: petrecca@imcs.rutgers.edu

Normally offered: Winter intersession, January at the Jacques Cousteau Coastal Education Center, Tuckerton, NJ.

Pre-requisites and other registration restrictions: Permission of the instructor. Preference given to students who have taken 11:704:324 Invertebrate Zoology or its equivalent.

Format: Lecture, intensive laboratory, field trip, collection of marine specimens

Description: Identification of Marine Invertebrates is a one-week, 2-credit, intersession class which is held in university classroom and dormitory facilities in Tuckerton, NJ. The class includes lectures and intensive daily laboratories, a field trip, and collection of specimens.

Evaluation: Final laboratory practical examination and laboratory notebooks.

Additional Information: This course is normally scheduled during the winter intersession in January and registration is limited to eight students. The course consists of five full-day classes (08:30 – 17:00) and one half day.

Course Description:
This is an intensive, one-week intersession class which is taught at Rutgers’ Jacques Cousteau Coastal Education Center on the coast in Tuckerton, NJ. Students will become familiar with the major phyla of marine invertebrates and learn the principles of taxonomic classification and identification to the species level. The course includes a field trip to collect benthic and planktonic samples, and a visit to the Rutgers University Marine Field Station. Live samples will be taken and the students will use dissecting and compound microscopes to assist with identifications. Preserved specimens will also be used for groups not readily available. Although there will be daily lectures, the course consists primarily of hands-on laboratory work. Lecture topics include 1) a historical perspective on marine biodiversity including contributions by important taxonomists, 2) species diversity and how it is measured in marine habitats, and 3) current international programs such as the Census of Marine Life and the Ocean Biographic Information System. In addition to learning how to use standard taxonomic references and keys, the students will also use computers to access web-based identification tools and photographs to assist in identifications e.g., http://iobis.org.

Special permission of the instructor is required for registration. It is recommended that students take this course after taking Invertebrate Zoology 11:704:324, although the latter course is not an absolute pre-requisite. An adequate background in biological science and an interest in marine invertebrates are sufficient preparation for this course.

Reading and Key References:
Bousfield, E. L. 1973. Shallow-water Gammaridean Amphipoda of New England. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY 312 pp.

Fauchald, K. 1977. The Polychaete Worms: Definition and Keys to the Orders, Families and Genera. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Science Series 28: 1-190.

Pollock L. W. 1998. A Practical Guide to the Marine Animals of Northeastern North America. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ, 367 pp.

Turner, R. Key to the Gastropoda. Unpubl. Manuscript.

Williams, A. B. 1984. Shrimps, Lobsters, and Crabs of the Atlantic Coast of the Eastern United States, Maine to Florida. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, 550 pp.

Winston, J. E. 1999. Describing Species: Practical Taxonomic Procedure for Biologists. Columbia University Press, New York, 518 pp.

Syllabus:
Day 1
Field trip/Rutgers University Marine Field Station. Collection of specimens to be used in class. Demonstration of benthic sampling gear (i.e. van Veen grab and beam trawl) and plankton tows.

Day 2
Lecture: Introduction to Invertebrate Systematics
Lab 1: Sort live material collected on field trip
Lab 2: Class Polychaeta: Identify key features and draw four polychaete species using appropriate identification keys.

Day 3
Lecture: Historical Perspective on Marine Biodiversity and Taxonomists
Lab 1: Complete polychaete identifications
Lab 2: Gastropoda and Bivalvia. Identify and draw three species from each Class using appropriate identification keys.

Day 4
Lecture: Marine Species Diversity
Lab 1 and 2: Crustacea, Orders Amphipoda, Decapoda, Mysida, Isopoda, Calanoida: Identify and draw two species from each Order using appropriate identification keys.

Day 5
Lecture: Marine Biodiversity Programs
Lab 1: Echinodermata, Classes Asteroidea, Echinoidea, Holothuroidea: Identify and draw two species from each Class using appropriate identification keys.
Lab 2: Use web-based tools and photographs to identify specimens.

Day 6
Laboratory practical examination.
Hand in laboratory notebooks.