BEAUFORT, N.C. – The 91 Marine Laboratory will offer two unique courses on marine conservation and policy this summer. The classes are open to all undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, graduate and post-graduate students who meet the prerequisite academic requirements.

Both classes focus on interdisciplinary problem-solving, using natural and social science to address real-world environmental challenges.

“Marine CSI: Conservation Forensics in the Marine Environment” will be taught May 12 to June 13. Students will learn forensic genetic techniques that may be used in the study of marine crime, including how to use a portable, state-of-the-art DNA lab – contained in a small suitcase – to conduct field analyses of samples collected from local fishermen, restaurants and retailers. Microsatellite and restriction fragment length polymorphism techniques will be among the tests students learn to apply. Statistical approaches to forensics and species/population identity and assignment tests also will be covered. 

“Marine CSI is an exciting way to give students of conservation biology a chance to work in practical settings using tools of the modern forensic scientist.” said Cindy Van Dover, director of the Duke Marine Lab. “It is a course that takes the mystery out of DNA and molecular genetics.” 

Enrollment deadline for this course is May 5, 2008. Tuition is $3136. All students must have completed a prerequisite university-level course in Introductory Biology.

Jens Carlsson, the Mary Derrickson McCurdy Visiting Scholar and visiting assistant professor of marine science and conservation at the Marine Lab, will teach the course.

“Conservation Biology and Policy,” will be taught July 7 to August 8. It will provide an interdisciplinary introduction to the conservation of marine and terrestrial biodiversity. Students will explore the origins of biodiversity and the ecological mechanisms of biodiversity loss at the genetic, species, and ecosystems level. They also will examine the theory and the practice of biodiversity conservation using socioeconomic, institutional, and ecological frameworks to examine the merits of the various strategies. 

Duke marine ecologist Larry Crowder and cultural anthropologist Mike Orbach will teach the course. Distinguished visiting speakers will supplement regular course material with weekly lectures, and will be available to meet with program participants.  Past speakers have included pioneering marine researchers, conservationists and communicators such as Jane Lubchenko of Oregon State University; Jeremy Jackson of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Vicki Spruill, president of the Ocean Conservancy, and Ken Weiss, prize-winning staff reporter for the Los Angeles Times.

Enrollment deadline for this course is June 30, 2008. Tuition is $2352.  The prerequisite is XXXXXXXXX.  

Located on Pivers Island in historic Beaufort, N.C., the Duke Marine Lab is a facility of Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences. It offers a year-round curriculum for undergraduate, professional graduate and doctoral students, as well as a full range of research, residential and teaching facilities.

To learn more about the Duke Marine Lab and the courses it offers, go to.