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dates: JULY 28 - AUGUST 11, 2008
credit hours: 4 semester credits
total cost: $3,968 (includes room, board and tuition)
 Prerequisites: Recognized SCUBA certification,* a medical
examination, and one full year of college level biology. Please follow these links for information about SML's diving program:
SML/AAUS SCUBA Diving Regulations – must be READ by all accepted students!
SML/AAUS SCUBA application –must be COMPLETED by all accepted students!
Accepted students must provide all their own EQUIPMENT – for the list, CLICK HERE!
 Simply
stated, the primary goal of Underwater Research is to provide guidance
and opportunities for students to conduct original research underwater.
Although working underwater creates a unique set of conditions and
constraints, the essence of good research remains unchanged regardless
of location. Accordingly, a large portion of the course is devoted
to the concept of research, particularly as it applies to subtidal
marine ecology. During the first week, morning and evening lectures
cover the philosophy of research, hypothesis testing and experimental
design, theoretical and practical aspects of sampling, current ecological
research in the Gulf of Maine, and new techniques for underwater
research. Conducting research underwater additionally requires a
sound understanding of the many physiological limitations on the
underwater researcher, thus lectures during the first week also
cover advanced aspects of diving physics and physiology, theory
and use of diving tables, and hyperbaric medicine. Additionally,
students sharpen skills in critical and constructive thinking by
presenting during three evening discussion sessions, oral critiques
of several papers reporting current subtidal research. Afternoon
diving activities during the first week consist of an initial check-out
dive, three dives to collect data for class-wide laboratory exercises,
and one dive to identify organisms as part of an underwater exam.
*See below for information about becoming a Scientific Diver
at SML!
All students have the opportunity to design and conduct original
research in the form of a detailed research "Proposal" on a subject
of their choice during the second week of the course. Students work
closely with the instructors to formulate research questions (based
on observations made during the first week and/or lectures) and
the appropriate sampling and experimental approach to answering
the questions. It is unrealistic to expect that sufficient data
for a research "Project" can be collected in one week, especially
when the project is conducted underwater. Consequently, the research
"Proposal" allows students to collect some preliminary data, as
well as to design sampling regimes and experiments that would be
done if sufficient time were available. Weather permitting, students
can plan on 11-14 dives during the second week for the collection
of preliminary data using a variety of research tools.
Faculty:
- Dr. James Coyer, University
of Groningen, Netherlands
- Elizabeth Calvert, Auke Bay Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA
- Dr. Jon Grabowski,
Gulf of Maine Research Institute
*Students will attain Scientific Diver status in the Shoals
Marine Laboratory Dive Program upon completion of the Underwater
Research course, and the optional Emergency Care Training (O2
Administration, Basic First Aid, CPR). The Shoals Marine Laboratory
is an Organizational Member of the American Association of Underwater
Scientists (AAUS: http://www.aaus.org),
and Scientific Diver status conforms to AAUS standards. As a Scientific
Diver, students may apply for permission to dive under the auspices
of AAUS-sanctioned Scientific Diving Programs at universities,
state and federal governmental agencies, and marine aquaria throughout
the United States. Scientific Diver Status is retained as long
as a minimal number of dives are completed each year and medical
requirements are updated at regular intervals (see Section 8 of
the SML Scuba Diving Regulations.
Virtually all Scientific Dive Programs in the United States are
AAUS Organizational Members and require participants to possess
AAUS-sanctioned Scientific Diver Status.
Information about Divers Alert Network (DAN): http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/
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