A new marine biology course will be offered this May term that as an option can fulfill the Natural World perspectives requirement for all Goshen College students. The course will bring students to the J.N. Roth Marine Biology Station in the Florida Keys to explore the various habitats and ecosystems over three weeks.

Phil Allman, associate professor of marine biology, said that the program he started a few years ago mainly targeted marine biology and biology majors. Any other students that wanted to take a class in the Florida Keys only got elective credit. BIOL 201, Biology of the Sea, is now the second class added to this Florida program.

“This now offers students an opportunity to get a little taste of what marine biology is and to learn about the importance of the oceans by taking a class that actually counts toward a requirement of their degree,” he said.

While the course was only announced in the Campus Communicator at the beginning of the week, Allman said the May term class has already reached its 12-student capacity — double the enrollment of the past few years. With several students already on the waitlist, he said there is a possibility to add a summer course.

In the other offered course, BIOL 304, marine biology and biology majors learn about taxonomy as it relates to which species and organisms are associated with each group. They are also introduced to the basics of the ocean and their ecological services as it relates to the protein it provides — the many societies that depend on it. This second topic is what the new course will primarily focus on, all while highlighting how humans benefit from oceans.

He brings up this example: “More than 60% of the oxygen in the atmosphere is produced by photosynthesis that takes place in the ocean,” said Allman. “Our life literally relies on the ocean productivity and ocean health.”

Laci Munger, a senior marine science major, will be the teacher’s assistant for BIOL 201 this May term. “I hope GC students will look at the ocean differently after taking this new class and realize how much our world is changing,” she said.

“I also hope that they will see how their actions, even in Indiana, can leave an impact on other places in the world. There are many threats to our oceans and the species in them, and after the class, the students will hopefully be able to identify those threats and think about restoration efforts as well,” Munger said.

Allman said after this course, he believes students will have more respect for the oceans and be aware of how important it is to keep them clean and healthy.

Allman shared that BIOL 201 was in the course catalog before he arrived at GC three years ago. While initially encouraging students to take the upper level 304 class, he learned from talking to alumni that, historically, many students in this program have not been biology majors.

The original marine biology program was started in 1967. It was started by Frank Bishop and Jonathan Roth, who intended the program to be accessible to all GC students. Though it seemed like only marine biology majors and minors have been participating in this program the last few years, when Allman learned of this original vision, he took the opportunity to make it once again more accessible. He said he thinks that the course being a natural world perspective will give other students more motivation to take the course.

In addition to the natural world perspective, Allman shared that the marine biology courses will now be available as electives for biology majors — including opportunities to spend a semester in Florida to gain marine biology experience.

Allman encourages all students to look into the legacy of the marine biology program at GC. “Although you may not major in marine biology and you may not be that interested in biology, there’s still a connection that you can make with the marine environment … and those connections can last a lifetime.”