Field Courses and Outreach

The Eastern Shore Laboratory (ESL) supports a wide variety of educational activities ranging from single-day fieldtrips to multi-week classes for students from a diversity of institutions. Instructors and students from VIMS, William & Mary, and numerous other colleges and universities in Virginia, other states, and other countries use the field station for classes. ESL staff also host a variety of public-education activities throughout the year.

Summer Field Courses 2009

Three undergraduate field courses will be offered during summer 2009 through the School of Marine Science at VIMS, with cross-listings in other departments.

Field Studies in Coastal Marine Environments

MSCI 498, GEOL 407, ENST 404, BIOL 404

• Dates: May 25 – June 7, 2009
• Instructors: Drs. M. Luckenbach,  J. Brubaker, J. Perry and W. Smith.
• Credit Hours: 3
• Location: VIMS Eastern Shore Laboratory. Students will be in residence at the field station.
• Contact: Dr. Mark Luckenbach, luck@vims.edu  
• Lab Fees: $300

This course focuses on fundamental processes in marine science through the examination of the near shore, barrier island, coastal lagoon, and salt marsh environments along Virginia’s outer coast. Through a series of field trips, lectures, laboratory exercises and independent projects, students will examine the fauna and flora of the region and learn how natural and anthropogenic factors shape these coastal ecosystems. Housing is provided in dormitories at the VIMS Eastern Shore Laboratory. Meals are included.

Marine Invertebrate Zoology

MSCI 569

• Dates: June 7 – June 20, 2009
• Instructors: Dr. J. Shields and Dr. J. E. Duffy
• Credit Hours: 3
• Location: VIMS Eastern Shore Laboratory. Students will be in residence at the field station.
• Contact: Dr. Jeff Shields, jeff@vims.edu  
• Fees: $450 (includes fees for boat use and fuel, lodging, on-site transportation, and laboratory supplies).

This is a field course designed to integrate the form and function of marine invertebrates with their ecology. The 2-week intensive course will cover the autecology of native marine invertebrates, focusing on anatomy, morphology and ecology of the diverse phyla represented on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Emphasis will be placed on intertidal and local subtidal species, ranging from the protozoa to the echinoderms. The course consists of lectures, extensive labs, and field collections. Be prepared to get muddy! Housing is provided in dormitories at the VIMS Eastern Shore Laboratory. Meals are included.

Coastal Marine Habitats in North Wales

MSCI 498/698, GEO 407, ENST 440

• Dates: July 19 - Aug. 1, 2009
• Instructors: Drs.  M. Luckenbach and J. Perry
• Credit Hours: 2
• Location: School of Ocean Sciences, Menai Bridge,  Anglesy, Wales, U.K.
• Contact: Dr. Mark Luckenbach, luck@vims.edu or   Dr. Jim Perry, jperry@vims.edu
• Fees:  $450 + airfare (includes fees for boat use and fuel, lodging, on-site transportation, and laboratory supplies).

This course is based out of the School of Ocean Sciences at Bangor University Wales, U.K.  Lectures, laboratory exercises, and field trips will cover topics on the ecology of rocky shores, mudflats and extensive wetlands, biological and physical processes affecting species distributions, and ecology in high-energy macrotidal coastal environments, palaeoceanography, biodiversity and the coastal geology of this region of Wales. Field excursions to coastal environments around the Isle of Anglesey and the Snowdonia Mountains provide the backdrop for this course. Housing is provided in dormitories on the campus of Bangor University. Meals are not included.