Biology of Marine Birds MASC 440 (6)
The interrelationship of birds and the marine environment. Lectures will emphasize the systematics and ecological relationships, behavior, life histories, movements and conservation of marine birds. Census techniques and methods of studying marine birds in the field will be stressed during field trips in the Barkley Sound region. Seabird identification, classification, morphology, plumages and molt will be examined in the laboratory. Prerequisite: Offerings of the MASC courses may vary from summer to summer because instructors are drawn from different universities. For that reason, prerequisites may vary slightly. In general, upper division standing in biology is required, and admission is usually competitive. Students are encouraged to consult the brochure published each fall by the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre for full and specific details. The brochure will be available from the Department of Biological Sciences.