The course instructors "Dr. Keith Ronald" <kronald barney nova fred edu> and
"Barra Gots" <gots barney nova fred edu>
are pleased to have you consider
our unique offering in the study of a fascinating but curiously unknown
aquatic form of life. We look forward to getting to know your thoughts and
ideas through your response to this announcement and perhaps later through
your participation in this educational experience.
Marine Mammal Management is an
interdisciplinary course, open to everyone who has an interest in the
Marine Mammals and their Management.
This course may be taken for credit or out of general
interest, anywhere in the world. Several thousand students have taken previous
environmental courses, over a period of nearly three decades both on campus and
throughout many countries of the world. These participants were drawn from
46 disciplines and sub disciplines as well as from the general public This
means that the other students taking the course at the same time as you are
likely to represent a wide variety in age, life experience and knowledge of
Marine Mammals. For this reason, the material in the course manual is
set up from a variety of perspectives -- such as social, philosophical, and
scientific -- so that there will be some area of the course with which each
student can feel some familiarity.
The Marine Mammal Management course is
essentially an interdisciplinary approach to examining the present
state of the relationship between marine mammals, people and the environment:
as this has evolved over time, as it stands today and as it is likely to be
for the future, whether by default or by design. The marine mammal -
environment relationship is extremely complex and fluid. It changes
depending upon place and time, and the rate of this change is accelerating
along with related developments such as population and economic growth,
technological capacity, and our expanding use of the world oceans and
waterways. Although this course in many ways resists categorization, for the
sake of simplicity it might be said to relate more to social processes and
philosophical considerations. We will look at the position and influence of
marine mammals within the environment, as well as the development of physical
conditions, values and economic activities that have led to their present
situation.
Course Objectives
The course attempts to help one to begin to develop an
understanding that marine mammal management concerns are
multi-faceted and involve:
Introduction and Overview
 A scientific dimensionA local dimensionA social dimensionAn ethical dimension
|
An economic dimensionA global dimensionA cultural dimensionAn ecological dimension |
The online course manual is designed to serve as a base source of information and ideas. While some students may already be familiar with many of the topics, other students may be considering these issues for the first time. A primary objective of the course is to provide each student with an introductory awareness of a diversity of issues including the morphology, physiology, adaptation and behaviour of these species and their interaction with humans and other predatory mammals. Their use will be considered in commerce, and conflicts, and competition with other species. A secondary objective is that the student begins to understand how these issues are interconnected, and how marine mammal species are interconnected to the rest of the natural environment. A third objective is to help the student to begin to consider the linkages between the ways in which we regard marine mammals, and our actions towards them. A fourth objective of the course (and perhaps the most challenging objective) is to help the student to begin to move beyond learning to action. We want to encourage students to think about the process of change and actions that might be taken to work towards a sustainable environment in which marine mammals are scientifically managed, whether on an individual, local or global basis. We want to help you to take these issues beyond the conceptual to the personal; in other words, to see how they can and do involve you.
Assessment
For all participants: interaction via e-mails and on-line discussion (10%), a choice of one (of three) essay questions (30%),
and an integrative final essay (60%).
| Chapter | Topic | Chapter | Topic
| 1.
| Introduction to Marine Mammals
| 10.
| Monk Seals | - Caribbean, sustainability lost - Hawaiian, unilateral hope - Mediterranean, Pliny to Tourism 2.
| Marine Mammal Management
| 11.
| California Sea Lion, Big Sur and survival
| 3.
| Introduction to Cetaceans
| 12.
| Harp Seal, to hunt or not to hunt
| 4.
| Beluga whale and toxic soups
| 13.
| Introduction to Sirenids
| 5.
| Dolphins, and non-consumption use?
| 14.
| Manatee, the harassed herbivore
| 6.
| Bowheads, the subsidence balance
| 15.
| Introduction to Marine Fissipeds
| 7.
| Orcas, of killers and Keikos
| 16.
| Polar Bear in a changing world
| 8.
| Pilots, stranding and utilization
| 17.
| Acoustic Stimuli of Marine Mammals
| 9.
| Introduction to Pinnipeds
| 18.
| Marine Mammal Conservation & Future Management, and the three directive sciences:
biological, sociological, and political.
|
|
"Marine Mammal Management" <de-mmm_1 barney mail fred ocean fred nova fred edu>