Anatomy and Function of Marine Vertebrates
Course Dates
Prerequisites
One semester of college-level biology or equivalent.
Equivalent Note
Cornell students: Biology & Society majors, this course fulfills the (II) Foundation Courses > (C) Biology Foundation > Biological Diversity requirement.
Course Description
In this course, we study structure, evolution, physiology, and biomechanics to investigate how vertebrates use anatomy to interface with the marine environment. Activities include marine mammal necropsies, trawling, whale watching, trips to the intertidal, and visits to nearby seal and seabird colonies. Each student will complete an independent research project on a topic within the field of anatomy and function.
"This two week course prepared me more for med school than any other college class I took!" - Maya Koretzky (AFMV '11, AFMV TA '12, John Hopkins School of Medicine entering class 2015)
Internship prerequisite: This course is recommended experience for the Marine Mammal Internship.
Scalloped Hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) given to the Shoals Lab (thanks to former director, Willy Bemis) by the Ecosystems Survey Branch of the NE Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, MA. Photo by Jan Factor.
Faculty
Assistant Professor, Biology Department, Knox College
Postdoctoral fellow, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
Check out this article (and video) about mummichog locomotion conducted by Dr. Stacy Farina and Noah Bressman (SML '11, '13, Cornell '16). Noah began this project as a student in Anatomy & Function of Marine Vertebrates, and it turned into an undergraduate thesis and a published scientific paper.
Click here to read: "Back-Flipping Fish Look Before They Leap Across Land"
