Welcome to Tropical Marine Ecosystems! Understanding the marine environment requires a basic knowledge of biological, physical, geological and chemical processes and how they interact. Increasingly, it also encompasses an understanding of the way marine resources can be sustainable managed. Consequently, the investigation and understanding of the ocean requires an interdisciplinary perspective of the ocean as an integrated system. 

The Institute of Marine Resources and the Division of Marine Studies of the University of the South Pacific, in collaboration with Macquarie University (Australia) and the University of Wisconsin- Platteville (US), offers two 3-week courses on Tropical Marine Ecosystems in the beautiful marine environment of Fiji. For Macquarie University and other Australian students, this course is offered at the beginning of each year (January – February) and IMR has been co-ordinating it since 2003. For the University of Wisconsin Study Abroad Program and other US students, this course is offered around June-July. The course can also be taken by USP students as a non-credit course. 

Tropical Marine Ecosystems Summer Course, 2010. 

In 2010, the course was held from Monday, January 25th - Thursday, February 11th and IMR played host to 15 students, accompanied by their Senior lecturers, from Macquarie University. Staff from the Division of Marine Studies at the School of Island and Oceans contributed lectures to the course. 

Areas covered included: tropical marine assemblages; tropical marine invertebrates, vertebrates and plants; geology, geomorphology, bio-geography and marine ethno biodiversity of Pacific Islands; basic seawater chemistry, nutrient cycle, oceanography; climate change; pollution; invasive species; aquaculture, community based management and brief on traditional Fijian fishing gear and methods. 

Field trips enabled students to snorkel and observe the diversity of corals and reef organisms on three different reefs; study features of a coral cay (Makaluva Island); stay overnight in a traditional Fijian village on the Coral Coast; see Fiji’s largest freshwater prawn farm at Navua; and get hands-on experience in seagrass, mangrove, and terrestrial coastal plants species identification. 

The students enjoyed the Course since it gave them a chance to get to know the Fijian culture, their food and lifestyle and also experience the practical part of the course, which ran alongside the lecture components. They made the most of their stay and visited nearby tourist spots in the weekends.

The Course covers 4 modules:

• Tropical Marine Environment L1-L8/ P1-P2;
• Tropical Communities and Conservation L8-Ll4/ P3-P4;
• Coral Reef Fisheries Ll5-L20/ P5-P6;
• Tropical Oceanography, Mariculture and Invasive Species L2l-L30/ P7-PlO;

Lecture times

Each lecture will last an hour with ample time allowed for discussion. Generally, there are two to three lectures per day accompanied by a practical session.

Venue

All lectures will be held at the Division of Marine Studies, School of Islands and Oceans, located at the Lower Campus of the University of the South Pacific. Fieldtrips will also be conducted around the vicinity of Suva.

Assessment

You will be assessed on the following tasks:

Practical summaries 30%
Field Excursion summaries 20%
Final Examination 50%

The final exam will consist of 4 essays, one from each module.

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At Macquarie University, this course is worth 3 credit points. The course usually runs from late January through to early February of each year.

The unit convenor is Dr David Raftos (Associate Professor David Raftos, Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, e-mail: draftos(at)rna.bio.mq.edu.au, ph: 61-2-9850 8402, FAX 61-2-9850 8245), Marine Sciences and Graduate School of the Environment.

Mr. Innes Ireland from Outbound Programs Coordinator, Macquarie International (P: +61 2 9850 6395, F: +61 2 9850 7733 E: innes.ireland(at)io.mq.edu.au, W: www.international.mq.edu.au) will also be able to assist students who wish to enrol in this programme.

IMR staff of USP will coordinate the course logistics from USP, Suva. The course is team-taught.

Pre-requisites for Macquarie students

• Upon approval into the unit, you would be pre-enrolled into BIOL245;
• To confirm your placement, students are encouraged to pay a non-refundable deposit of AUD$1, 000 by mid-November;
• Your proof of payment must be provided to your Study Abroad Advisor;
• Full payment and proof of travel insurance for the program is due by mid-December;
• 20 credit points which must include:
• BIOL 114 (Evolution and Biodiversity)
• GEOS 116  (Marine Geoscience)

General Admission requirements

Students who wish to enrol in this course should have completed the following pre-requisites:

• Students must be enrolled at an Australian University;
• Students must contact their Study Abroad Advisor;
• Students should have studied plant and animal biology at an introductory level;
• Intermediate level of swimming is required.

UWP/USP Tropical Marine Ecosystems Course

USP together with UWP will offer the course FJ-BIOL/GEOG 2250 Tropical Marine Ecosystems for 3 credits. Course pre-requisites for US students will be at least one course in biology or geography. The dates of the course will be in June – July.

US students will have the option of taking a 1 credit SCUBA Diving course arranged by UWP and facilitated by the UWP On-site Program Coordinator (OSPC). On-site orientation will be provided by the UWP OSPC before the course begins.

For further information about the course and registration, please contact Donna Anderson on anderdon(at)uwplatt.edu

The on-site program coordinator in Fiji for US study abroad students is Kris Stice. You can contact him on krisstice(at)hotmail.com

The Tropical Marine Ecosystems Course is always held during USP's semester breaks (June-July and Jan-Feb). The Course can be taken by USP students as a non-credit course.

Pre-requisites for USP students

• BI102 (Plant Biology)
• BI108 (Animal Biology)

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