300314 UE Fauna and flora of marine habitats (2009S)

The course takes place during two weeks in Rovinj, Croatia, at the marine station of the Ruder Boscovic Institute, where a diversity of marine habitats are easily accessible. Each day is dedicated to various aspects of these habitats. After an introductory lecture, field work is usually organized in groups examining different aspects of the habitat. The organisms are collected by snorkeling and preliminarily identified in the field. Afternoons are dedicated to specimens identification in the lab. In addition to the marine biological question, morphological and functional issues of these organisms are of importance. The information gathered in the field and the lab is summarized by short oral presentations by the students. The list of habitats and topics treated includes plankton, fishes, the intertidal areas, sublitoral rocky, sandy and mud bottoms, secondary hard bottoms, interstitial fauna, algae and sea grass meadows, and marine caves. A half-day excursion into the Maccie introduces the Mediterranean terrestrial flora and fauna.
The aim of the course is to familiarize students with the most common and characteristic marine organisms of the various habitats, their ecological significance and their morphological features.