Università Roma Tre

Part 1- Introduction to Marine Biology and Oceanography. Brief introduction to Marine Biology and Oceanography; origin and formation of the oceans; seabed and marine sediments; physical and chemical characteristics of the oceans; sea movements (currents, tides, waves); focus on the characteristics and circulation of the Mediterranean Sea.
Part 2-Life in the Sea. Adaptations of organisms to the marine environment; reproduction and life cycles; associations between organisms; benthos and the vertical zonation; plankton; nekton; deep Sea environments; transitional environments, with particular reference to coastal lagoons. Main Mediterranean species and habitats of conservation interest. Biogeography of the Mediterranean Sea.
Part 3- Sampling and monitoring methods in the marine environment. Main methods for monitoring and data collection in the marine environment; genetics and genomics of marine organisms: classical methods and new frontiers of genomics (environmental DNA and Next Generation Sequencing).
Part 4- The Mediterranean Sea and the current challenges for its management and conservation. Brief introduction to the Community Directives, the Strategies, and the financing programmes for the protection of the marine environment; Focus on “hot topics”: adaptation and resilience to climate change; introduction of alien species, tropicalization and meridionalization of the Mediterranean Sea; impact of plastics; fishing tools and over-exploitation of fish resources; environmental contaminants and their transfer from the abiotic to the biotic compounds.

1) Cognetti G., Sarà M., Magazzù G. - Biologia Marina. Edizioni Calderini, Roma, 1999. 596 pages; or further reprints. (in Italian)
2) Castro P., Huber M.E.- Marine Biology, 11th edition Mcgraw Hill Education, 2019 (in English).
LESSON SLIDES AND ADDITIONAL MATERIAL ARE PROVIDED DURING THE COURSE