IAP 2020: 2.981 New England Coastal Ecology

Lecture: TR 10:30am – 12pm, 5-233 | Units 2-0-1 (P/D/F)
Req. Field Trip: Thursday, January 16, 2020 8am – 5pm

Three smiling students crouch in a salt marsh counting species of grass.

THE COURSE

Combining lectures and visits to field and research centers, participants will be introduced to marine communities found along the coast of New England. Emphasis will be on the ecology of salt marshes and rocky shores and the plants and animals living there; the ecological services these communities provide us, and some likely impacts of current and future climate change.

CONTACT US

“We want to give a taste of coastal communities in New England to the students at MIT – especially those who come from abroad or other parts of the US.”

– Carolina Bastidas, Instructor, MIT Sea Grant Research Scientist

“I think it’s so important for mechanical engineering students to take classes like this one because we are definitely going to be needed to help mitigate the problems that come with sea level rise.”

– Valerie Muldoon (Mechanical Engineering ’20 | minors: Energy Studies; Environment and Sustainability)

“There are a lot of interesting implications of sea level rise for intertidal organisms. As temperatures rise, all of those organisms are going to need to adapt or the communities are going to change, possibly dramatically.”

– Juliet Simpson, Instructor, MIT Sea Grant Coastal Ecologist