Marine Ecology Research Program

We're like pioneers, going out and doing research that people haven't done before.
—Jayme, boarding student from Alamo, California

Overview

Santa Catalina sits just two miles from the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, an environment so rich in biodiversity it's known as "The Serengeti of the Sea." Because of our location, we have developed a signature program that exposes our students to the wonders of Monterey Bay and allows them to take full advantage of its great educational value. Watch the video below to get a peek at the range of experiences offered in our Marine Ecology Research Program.

Curriculum

Our three-year Marine Ecology Research Program provides an intensive focus on marine science for a select group of students beginning in their sophomore year. Students study in and around the ocean, doing research, learning by observation, testing hypotheses, and experimenting in the bay itself.

Marine Ecology Research 1

Students snorkeling in pool — **Students learn how to snorkel in the pool on campus, a valuable skill for marine data collection.**

The first year of the Marine Ecology Research Program is designed to give motivated students a personal experience of the scientific process through the exploration of dynamic marine environments. The goal is to give students the conceptual and technical skills needed to undertake independent research in marine science-related fields in the following year. The course begins with a focus on the practice and fundamentals of science, including observational methods, qualitative and quantitative data collection, hypothesis generation, data synthesis and evaluation, descriptive and inferential statistics, and scientific communication and critique.

Specific concepts of marine ecology are discussed, including interactions between organisms and the physical environment, focused on the intertidal community. Students learn biological concepts, including food webs, phylogeny, niche space, biodiversity and energetics, and work with the essential environmental parameters that influence the biology, such as temperature, salinity, solar inputs, and wave force. In doing this, they learn basic techniques of the field, including field sampling using transects and quadrats, digital data acquisition, and the use of remote sensing databases, and participate in a long-term baseline study of the changing coastline of central California. The course concludes with the design, execution, and presentation of a project to investigate an interaction between the physical and biological world along the Monterey shoreline. Upon completion of this course, students will have experienced a broad overview of the major principles of ecology, and may transition to more advanced science courses and independent research.

Marine Ecology Research 2 Honors

Teacher works with girls in lab — **Aquaria on campus allow students to house live organisms for research and experiments.**

This course is designed to give motivated students a personal experience of the scientific process through the pursuit of a guided independent research project. The goal is to give students a first experience of independent research in marine science-related fields, beginning with the development of a scientific question embodied in a research proposal. Research builds on the practice and fundamentals of science, including observational methods, qualitative and quantitative data collection, hypothesis generation, data synthesis and evaluation, descriptive and inferential statistics, and scientific communication and critique. Special attention is paid to literature review and background work, both to support and frame the student’s project, and to increase familiarity with norms of technical communication.

Students are encouraged, but not required, to seek collaborations with local research institutions, and pursue their work in an internship setting. This course requires students to be highly self-motivated and professional in setting goals and honoring time commitments, as most of the research itself will likely be executed outside of class hours. Upon completion of this course, students will have executed a piece of research that will be the focus of independent work done during the senior year.

Advanced Topics: Marine Ecology Research 3

Crowd gathers around student presenting research — **Senior MERP students present their research every year at the Western Society of Naturalists conference.**

The third year of the Marine Ecology Research Program is designed to give students who have completed a significant research project in the junior year a chance to synthesize and communicate the results of that work. The goal is to give students the experience of communicating technical information in a professional setting. The course begins with the analysis of results generated during the junior year research, with implementation of appropriate statistical tests. Students then determine an appropriate format to communicate their work and are encouraged to present their work in a professional forum where they can both see how other researchers approach disseminating their work, and receive feedback and critique from active workers in the field.

This course requires students to be highly self-motivated and professional in setting goals and time commitments, as most of the analysis, writing, and layout will likely be executed outside of class hours. Upon completion of this course, students will have presented their research formally and informally, and discussed the requirements and merits of several scientific communication outlets.

We need to experience a new setting to notice our own place.
—Dr. Christian Reilly and Dr. Lisa Marrack

Hawaii Research Trip

After every school year, students take a trip to Hawaii to monitor the health of coral reefs, an ongoing research project in which each year's students build on the observations of the last. Students also hike across volcanic craters, walk through native rainforests, swim among juvenile reef fish, and explore green sea turtle habitats.

The Faculty

Christian Reilly

Degrees: B.S., The Evergreen State College
M.A., Boston University
Ph.D., Stanford University

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Lisa Marrack

Degrees: B.A. (magna cum laude), Williams College
M.A., Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley