MARINE POLLUTION OCEAN 409, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
Syllabus for Spring 2022
Time, Location, Zoom, and Course Website M-W-F 11:30-12:20pm PST The course materials will be posted through UW Canvas.
Course Overview Marine Pollution explores anthropogenic impacts on the oceans and marine organisms. Marine pollution occurs when harmful effects result from the entry into the ocean of chemicals, particles, industrial or residential waste, noise, light, or the spread of invasive organisms. In this course, students examine how scientific understanding of marine pollution informs environmental management, thereby linking science and society. Students will develop a detailed understanding of six major categories of anthropogenic impacts on marine systems. Each theme will be explored from a variety of angles including pollution source(s), mechanisms of action, delirious effects and mitigation thereof, management of the issue, and some likely futures for the issue/theme.
Learning Goals Students successfully completing this course will be able to • Understand a set of core facts about anthropogenic change to the oceans, including key aspects of ocean acidification, deoxygenation, chemical pollution, and deleterious impacts on fish and plankton. • Be able to communicate the effects of marine pollution on global climate. • Develop or enhance skills in team work, inductive reasoning, interpretation of complex data, and the sharing of complex scientific data and interpretations with non-technical audiences.
Instructor Contact Information and Office Hours Rick Keil Professor of Chemical Oceanography Ocean Sciences Building, Room 517 [email protected]
Randie Bundy Professor of Chemical Oceanography Ocean Sciences Building, Room 411 [email protected]
Randie and Rick’s office hours are for one hour immediately following class periods. You may also email to set-up an appointment at another time.
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Required Readings There is no textbook for this course. All required readings are available on the course web site. Reading for each unit will include one or two peer-reviewed articles pertinent to the subject and/or an article in the popular press. Core readings for each unit are listed in the next section.
Course Plan The course content is divided into six (6) units, each of which takes approximately 2 weeks (5-6 classes) to complete, with two units only taking one week (Metals and Light Pollution). Since the course is divided into six sections, but there are many more than six components to marine pollution, the instructors have made the decision to discard some breath in favor of depth.
Units start with an introductory lecture by the instructor, followed by class periods devoted to advanced reading and sharing, dissecting selected peer-reviewed research papers pertinent to the issue, guest lectures, and discussion of the scientific nuances of the issue. These classes will include group activities and short in-class worksheets aimed at gathering and sharing information. Students are expected to read papers in advance of these classes, and to participate fully in in-class projects and discussions. The final class of each unit will be the quiz. The quiz usually consists of short answer questions and a one-page persuasive essay. The quiz is released two days prior to the class period. It is intended that the student prepare for the quiz ahead of time and are ready on Fridays to take the quiz. Example Unit Flow: Topic 1: Plastics • Class 1: Lecture “An introduction to plastics in the ocean”. • Class 2: Guest Lecturer who is active in the field. • Class 3: Small group activity on plastics in the ocean. • Class 4: Lecture “Plastics in Puget Sound and other oceanic regions”. • Read two papers in between classes 4 and 5 in preparation for an in-class discussion • Class 5: Whole-class discussion on the readings. • Class 6: Quiz on the unit. Units and Core Readings: Course Units Plastics: From the great garbage patch to micro and nanoplastics Law, K.L., Morét-Ferguson, S., Maximenko, N.A., Proskurowski, G., Peacock, E.E., Hafner, J. and Reddy, C.M., 2010. Plastic accumulation in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre. Science, 329(5996), pp.1185-1188. Sigler, M., 2014. The effects of plastic pollution on aquatic wildlife: current situations and future solutions. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 225(11), p.2184. Metals: Impact of heavy metal contamination from human healthy to ecosystem effects deBruyn, A. M., Trudel, M., Eyding, N., Harding, J., McNally, H., Mountain, R., ... & Mazumder, A. (2006). Ecosystemic effects of salmon farming increase mercury contamination in wild fish. Environmental science & technology, 40(11), 3489-3493.
Seabert, T. A., Pal, S., Pinet, B. M., Haman, F., Robidoux, M. A., Imbeault, P., ... & Blais, J. M. (2014). Elevated contaminants contrasted with potential benefits of ω-3 fatty acids in wild food consumers of two remote first nations communities in Northern Ontario, Canada. PLoS One, 9(3). 2
Light Pollution: It is pretty bright out there… Davies, T. W., Duffy, J. P., Bennie, J., & Gaston, K. J. (2014). The nature, extent, and ecological implications of marine light pollution. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 12(6), 347-355. Ocean Acidification: What’s the big deal? Doney, S.C., Fabry, V.J., Feely, R.A. and Kleypas, J.A., 2009. Ocean acidification: the other CO2 problem. What did you say? Noise pollution in the ocean Parks, S. E., Clark, C. W., & Tyack, P. L. (2007). Short-and long-term changes in right whale calling behavior: the potential effects of noise on acoustic communication. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 122(6), 3725-3731.
Rolland, R. M., Parks, S. E., Hunt, K. E., Castellote, M., Corkeron, P. J., Nowacek, D. P., ... & Kraus, S. D. (2012). Evidence that ship noise increases stress in right whales. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 279(1737), 2363- 2368. Persistent Organic Pollutants and Emerging Pollutants: West, J. E., O'Neill, S. M., & Ylitalo, G. M. (2008). Spatial extent, magnitude, and patterns of persistent organochlorine pollutants in Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) populations in the Puget Sound (USA) and Strait of Georgia (Canada). Science of the Total Environment, 394(2-3), 369-378.
Jamieson, A. J., Malkocs, T., Piertney, S. B., Fujii, T., & Zhang, Z. (2017). Bioaccumulation of persistent organic pollutants in the deepest ocean fauna. Nature ecology & evolution, 1(3), 1-4.
Grading In this class students are peer learners and not grade competitors. This means that if everyone earns a 4.0 everyone can have one; there will be no grade curving. Students will be expected to perform at their highest level in terms of a) understanding the basic scientific tenants of each examined marine pollution topic, b) evaluating potential mechanisms to mitigate the problem, and c) demonstrating critical thinking by developing research ideas pertinent to the topic.
Project. There will be a single project that you will complete as a group on a marine pollution topic of your choosing. At the beginning of the course each group will identify a subject for their case study and medium for presenting that case study, and all case studies will be due at the end of the term and presented in class during a symposium. Additional information on the project and grading rubric will be provided by the instructor and made available on Canvas. Each member of the group project team will also provide feedback on the other group members to the instructor, to ensure equitable participation in the group project. The case study will be 20% of the course grade.
Quizzes. Each theme we are covering in class will include a short quiz. These quizzes will be a mix of multiple choice and short answer questions followed by a small essay. A rubric for the quizzes will be provided. The quizzes will be 10% each and will total 60% of the overall grade.
Participation and Activities. Students will work in class on the group aspect of learning (paper reading, idea sharing, etc). In-class participation will be instructor graded, and will be based on participation in the activities, and listening to the guest lecturers. This will be worth 10% of the final grade.
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Paper Discussions. Students will be expected to read the scientific papers prior to attending class. In the beginning of class on paper discussion days, students will spend 5 minutes writing down a summary of each paper, and at least one question or comment they had about the papers. A few students will be chosen at random to lead the class paper discussions, which usually consist of breaking up into small groups to discuss the papers, and then coming back together as a class for a broader discussion. Your participation and attendance of the paper discussions will be graded based on the collection of the paper summaries during the class period, and will be worth 10% of your grade.
Percentage grades will be converted to a 4.0 scale based on the table below. Median Range Percentage 4.0 3.8-4.0 94-100 3.7 3.5-3.8 90-93 3.3 3.2-3.4 87-89 3.0 2.9-3.1 84-88 2.7 2.5-2.8 80-83 2.3 2.2-2.4 77-79 2.0 1.9-2.1 74-78 1.7 1.5-1.8 70-73
Policies This course is designed to maximize your learning of the subject matter and advance your skills through a variety of activities. Therefore, our attendance policy is aimed at supporting our educational goals.
Paper Discussions. Paper discussions require you to be present in class during the discussion, so late work is not accepted for paper discussions. If you know prior to class that you will be absent during a paper discussion, contact the instructor ahead of time so that you can provide some thoughts on the paper that the instructor can incorporate into the class discussion.
Activities. The activities are critical to your learning and your ability to synthesize the material presented. You should consult the instructor to determine if it is possible to make up activities.
Quizzes. Quizzes are only offered on the scheduled dates, but if you know you will be absent for a quiz, let the instructor know ahead of time so that a make-up quiz can be scheduled.
Excused absences. Our attendance policies are flexible under specific circumstances. Excused absences are religious holidays, pre-approved professional activities, injury or illness of student or immediate family member. Notification of anticipated absences should occur as early as possible.
Inclusivity in the Classroom In this class, all students will be included, heard and valued. In this classroom, we recognize DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION and INTERSECTIONALITY. We are free to engage and discuss issues of social justice and equity as they relate to marginalized groups. We will promote a safe, healthy and fair learning environment for all students and instructors. We will include and engage all learners in our learning space. We will do our best to recognize overlapping and interdependent 4 factors related to discrimination and/or racism, and call them out if we see them so that we can learn and improve, while always respecting each other and our backgrounds. Diversity, equity, inclusion and intersectionality has a place in every classroom, just as it has a place in the study of marine pollution.
Students with Disabilities At the University of Washington, it is the policy and practice to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. Full participation in this course requires the ability to attend class, the ability to work alone or with others in 5-10 minute activities during lectures, the ability to work in groups outside of class (perhaps on-line), and the ability to complete out of class assignments. If you anticipate or experience barriers to your learning or full participation in this course based on a physical, learning, or mental health disability, please immediately contact the instructor to discuss possible accommodation(s). Please also contact Disability Resources for Students (DRS) at: 206- 543-8924 V / 206-543-8925 TDD / [email protected] e-mail / http://www.uw.edu/students/drs. Roles & Responsibilities Student: Inform the instructor no later than the first week of the quarter of any accommodation(s) you will or may potentially require. Instructor: Maintain strict confidentiality of any student’s disability and accommodation(s); help all students meet the learning objectives of this course.
Academic Integrity At the University level, passing anyone else’s scholarly work (which can include written material, exam answers, graphics or other images, and even ideas) as your own, without proper attribution, is considered academic misconduct. Plagiarism, cheating, and other misconduct are serious violations of the University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-120). You are expected to know and follow university policies on cheating and plagiarism. Any suspected cases of academic misconduct will be handled according to university regulations. For more information, see the College of the Environment’s Academic Misconduct Policy and the Community Standards and Student Conduct website.
Safety Call SafeCampus at 206-685-7233 anytime – no matter where you work or study – to anonymously discuss safety and well-being concerns for yourself or others. SafeCampus’s team of caring professionals will provide individualized support, while discussing short- and long-term solutions and connecting you with additional resources when requested.
Religious Accommodations Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious- accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/).
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Schedule at a Glance Week Day Unit Activity Assignment 1 M Plastics: Unit #1 Lecture: Intro Project Assigned W Plastics: Unit #1 Guest Lecture: Julie Masura Lecture: Intro to Plastics in F Plastics: Unit #1 the Ocean
Activity: Plastic Movement in 2 M Plastics: Unit #1 the Ocean Read Law et al (2010) and Sigler (2014) Paper Discussion on Law et W Plastics: Unit #1 al. (2010) and Sigler (2014) Quiz #1 handed out Quiz #1: Plastics in the F Plastics: Unit #1 Ocean Quiz #1 due
Read Debruyn et al. (2006) and Seabert et al. 3 M Metals: Unit #2 Lecture: Intro to Metals (2014)
W Metals: Unit #2 Activity Quiz #2 handed out Discussion on Debruyn et al. (2006) and Seabert et al. F Metals: Unit #2 (2014) Quiz #2 due
Lecture: Intro to Light 4 M Light Pollution: Unit #3 Pollution Read Davies et al. (2014), Quiz #3 handed out- W Light Pollution: Unit #3 Activity take home Discussion on Davies et al. F Light Pollution: Unit #3 (2014) Quiz #3 due
Lecture: Intro to Ocean 5 M Ocean Acidification: Unit #4 Acidification Read Doney et al. (2009) Discussion: Based on Doney W Ocean Acidification: Unit #4 et al. (2009) Guest Lecture: Adrienne F Ocean Acidification: Unit #4 Sutton
Lecture: Effects on 6 M Ocean Acidification: Unit #4 Organisms W Ocean Acidification: Unit #4 Activity: Shark Tank Quiz #4 handed out- take home F Ocean Acidification: Unit #4 Quiz #4: Ocean Acidification Quiz #4 due
Lecture: Intro to Noise 7 M Noise Pollution: Unit #5 Pollution read Parks et al. (2007) & Rolland et al. (2012) Discussion: Based on Parks et al. (2007) and Rolland et W Noise Pollution: Unit #5 al. (2012) F Noise Pollution: Unit #5 Guest Lecture: Scott Veirs
8 M Noise Pollution: Unit #5 Activity: Noise Game Lecture: Noise Pollution Part W Noise Pollution: Unit #5 II Quiz #5 handed out F Noise Pollution: Unit #5 Quiz #5: Noise Pollution Quiz #5 due
9 M Holiday: Memorial Day Holiday: Memorial Day 6
W Persistent Organic Pollutants: Unit #6 Lecture: Intro to POPs read West et al. (2008) and Jamieson et al F Persistent Organic Pollutants: Unit #6 Guest Lecture: Ed Kolodziej (2017)
Discussion: Based on West et al. (2008) and Jamieson et al. 10 M Persistent Organic Pollutants: Unit #6 (2017) Lecture: Persistent Organic W Persistent Organic Pollutants: Unit #6 Pollutants in Puget Sound Quiz #6 handed out- take home F Persistent Organic Pollutants: Unit #6 Project Symposium Quiz #6 due
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