Autumn 2013 Courses
- "It was the best part of my undergraduate education for so many reasons. It improved my critical thinking and my understanding of biology and physiology which helps me in my career in medicine now. FHL is an invaluable place!!"
- "Coming from Norway, doing courses at FHL gave me the opportunity to make contact with students and researchers from the US, which have been very valuable to me. In addition, the knowledge I gained during my stay in FHL is valuable to my career, because I could not get similar courses in my country."
- "Because of FHL, I'm applying to doctoral programs in ecology and evolutionary biology, despite having studied physics as an undergraduate. FHL enabled me to do this by providing research opportunities, excellent courses, and an open, inviting atmosphere."
- "… I got an important taste of laboratory and fieldwork that I never would have gotten through normal courses at the UW. I learned a lot about evolution and development, a topic I am becoming more and more interested in. It was also a good chance to meet and interact with people studying evolution at other universities -- people I still see at conferences every now and then."
MAY 15 - early admission review for Marine Biology Quarter applications only
JULY 1 - application review date for all Autumn Quarter applications*
*Students are encouraged to apply as early as possible. Applications will be accepted past July 1 if space is available. For information please contact Stacy Markman, FHL Student Coordinator.
FHL AUTUMN QUARTER:
Wednesday, Sept 25 to Friday, Dec 6, 2013 (10.5 weeks)
Students arrive Tuesday, Sept. 24 after 3:00 p.m.,
depart Saturday morning, Dec. 7 after breakfast, served 7:45-8:15 a.m.
Autumn Quarter classes held Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Thanksgiving Holiday 2013:
No classes will be held on Thursday, November 21 or Friday, November 22 for the Thanksgiving holiday weekened. Students may choose to stay on campus during this holiday. The FHL Dining Hall will be closed after lunch on Wednesday (hot lunches will be served on Wednesday, but no dinner), 
Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning, reopening for dinner on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. Students staying on campus can be given access to cooking facilities for these four days.
Credits for FHL coursework will be earned through the University of Washington but applicants to FHL courses do not need to be enrolled at University of Washington. Students from all over the world come to study and conduct research at Friday Harbor Labs.
Research Apprenticeship Program
AUTUMN QUARTER 2013 COURSE LIST
1) MARINE BIOLOGY QUARTER
Students select courses from the following options to total full-time enrollment (12 or more credits):
Marine Biology (5 credits: Biol/Ocean/Fish 250)
Ichthyology (5 credits: Fish 311)
Ocean Circulation (3 credits, Ocean 210)
Reading and Writing the Marine Environment (5 credits: English 365)
Creative Writing Lab (1-5 credits: English 493)
Marine Environmental Research Experience (6 credits: Biol/Fish/Ocean 479, Envir 499)
FHL Undergraduate Seminar (1 credit: Biol 490)
2) PELAGIC ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION IN THE SAN JUAN ARCHIPELAGO RESEARCH APPRENTICESHIP
(Ocean 492, 15 credits)
Marine Biology Quarter (MBQ)
MAY 15 - early admission review
JULY 1 - application review begins for all Autumn Quarter applications*
*Students are encouraged to apply as early as possible. Applications will be accepted past July 1 if space is available. For information please contact Stacy Markman, FHL Student Coordinator.
Of the following course options available for the Marine Biology Quarter, students will enroll in combination of courses which together constitute full-time enrollment (12 or more credits):
1) Marine Biology (5 credits: Biol 250, Ocean 250 or Fish 250)
2) Ichthyology (5 credits, Fish 311)
3) Ocean Circulation (3 credits, Ocean 210)
4) Reading and Writing the Marine Environment (5 credits: English 365)
5) Creative Writing Lab (1-5 credits: English 493)
6) Marine Environmental Research Experience (6 credits: Biol/Fish/Ocean 479, Envir 499)
7) FHL Undergrduate Seminar (1 credit: Biol 490)
Course descriptions:
1) Marine Biology
Dr. Michael O'Donnell5 credits through Biology/Ocean/Fish 250
This 5-credit lecture/laboratory course focuses on the incredible diversity of organisms inhabiting the marine environment. During the quarter we will take a broad tour through the plants and animals of the marine realm (plankton, seaweeds, invertebrates, fish, birds, and mammals), exploring how these organisms have adapted to life under water. Numerous field and laboratory exercises will expose students to common marine biological techniques and to the diverse marine communities common to Washington’s San Juan Islands. (Note: this course fulfills a core requirement of the Marine Biology minor for University of Washington students.) Recommendation: at least one quarter of introductory biology (more is preferable). Enrollment limited to 30 students. For additional information contact: Dr. Michael O'Donnell.
Check out the blog from the 2009 Marine Biology students.
2) Ichthyology
Dr. Adam Summers5 credits, Fish 311
Fish 311 is an introductory course designed to provide an overview of the wonderful world of fishes, their kinds and ways. We’ll discuss and conduct a hands-on examination of the biology and diversity of living fishes of the world—from ancient bottom-living hagfishes and lampreys to modern-day sharks, rays, and bony fishes; from the freshwaters of Amazonia
and to mangrove swamps and coral reefs; and from shallow-water lakes and streams to
the deepest parts of the world's oceans. For additional information contact: Dr. Adam Summers
3) Ocean Circulation
Dr. Michael O'DonnellOcean 210, 3 credits
We will learn about the processes that control the large scale surface and deep water circulation of the ocean. We will look at the distribution of temperature, salinity, and chemical tracers to detect the circulation pathway of currents in the deep sea. In the surface ocean, we will learn how the ocean responds to forcing from surface winds and how this response controls the pattern and speed of surface currents.
Topics include temperature-salinity analysis; Coriolis force, geostrophic equilibrium, upwelling, water mass identification; water, salt, and heat budgets; advection and diffusion. Prerequisite: either Ocean 101, Ocean 200, or OCEAN 250/BIOL 250/FISH 250; recommended: either PHYS 114 or PHYS 121.
The course is both quantitative and descriptive. Thus familiarity with basic concepts (e.g., units, forces, vectors,) covered in an introductory Physics class will help. Although the exams and problem sets are quantitative, the mathematical skill level is fairly basic. Basic familiarity with Excel, or a similar spreadsheet program, will be needed for some problem sets. For additional information contact: Dr. Michael O'Donnell.
Enrollment limited to 20 students.
4) Reading and Writing the Marine Environment
Sierra NelsonEnglish 365, 5 credits (cross-listed as CHID at UW)
This is a nautically-minded literature and writing course intended for readers and writers from all disciplinary backgrounds.
What book is an unparalleled extravagance of literary ambition and style, a firsthand observatory of sea and life at sea, a serious natural history of cetacean mammals, an apparently bottomless mirror for American philosophical self-reflection, at once a mythic quest and a white-knuckle adventure story? Or: what book would you bring, if you happened to be an island-bound castaway? You will be one, so buy Moby Dick. Together we’ll attempt to harpoon the Great Book, read for delight, and hope for wisdom in its wake. Beside the White Whale, we’ll collect and examine many other specimens from the literatures of the sea, and assemble a bibliography, an anthology for our pleasure, and a permanent bookshelf for the FHL library. UW students earn “VLPA” credits in this course.
The creative writing section of the course is inspired by writers, artists, scientists and naturalists who have taken the sea for their subject. All comers are welcome. No experience in creative writing is presumed; a wide range of experience is anticipated.
How do you get from sea to seascape? Consider paint, verse, field note, and mathematics: do marine representations in each of these modes have anything in common? What are their various intents and purposes, their respective ways and means? Specifically, how does nerve by language nudge the world and come away with an impression? Our conversation will draw courage from large questions like these and others we may wish to bring to the table; meanwhile, our principal considerations will be practical, taken from the writer’s rather than the critic’s or philosopher’s standpoint. We’ll posit a general taxonomy of the arts of prose and poetry, and test its elements at the point of a pencil. We’ll adapt our methods from field science, whose acolytes comb beaches and other niches, and also from studio art, whose apprentices set up their easels in museums, copying type specimens. Our specimens will be extracted from the literatures of the sea. Our practice will favor outward-tending gesture over inward-gazing self-expression and polish. Writing will be constant and joyful. UW students earn “VLPA” credits in this course.
For additional information contact:
songsforsquid@gmail.com
5) Creative Writing Lab
"W" writing credits available for UW students upon request
Sierra Nelson1-5 credits: English 493 (cross-listed as CHID at UW)
For those students enrolled in the Writing class who wish to experience a workshop-style creative writing circumstance, in the interest of bringing greater critical pressure to bear on their own work than the parent class may permit, and developing their own conversational critical faculties in a communal setting.
For additional information contact: songsforsquid@gmail.com
6) Marine Environmental Research Experience
Dr. Kenneth SebensBiology/Fish/Ocean 479, Envir 499: 6 credits
Course description:
This directed research course is an opportunity for you to develop your skills as apprentice scientists by conducting hands-on research and communicating your findings to a diverse audience. You will work under the guidance of your course instructors and a research mentor to design and carry out a small research project. You will draft a short research proposal, carry out your research, and analyze your data. You will end by presenting your findings in a scientific report and an oral presentation in the last week of class. . Students interested in pursuing research in marine biology can select from a range of field and/or laboratory techniques. Students interested in a social science approach can select from such methods as interviews, surveys, participant observation, or analysis of already existing data. For example, you may observe meetings of local environmental groups, or interview selected island residents. Although students will work on different research topics, the course will be centered on learning research and communication skills that are broadly applicable. Hands-on research will be supplemented by workshops aimed at guiding you through the challenges of the research process. UW students earn “W” credits in this writing-intensive course.
Goals:
The following statements outline in broad terms what you will know and be able to do after taking this course:
1. Understand the fundamental components of the scientific process
2. Apply the scientific method to test novel hypotheses and answer interesting questions
3. Develop quantitative reasoning skills to be able to understand, create, and critique scientific arguments
4. Find, read and synthesize relevant peer-reviewed scientific literature
5. Effectively communicate the results of independent research to diverse audiences
6. Relate your research (and science in general) to your daily lives and the lives of others
7. Function successfully in a group
Research projects to be determined by student and faculty. Enrollment limited to 20 students.
For additional information contact:
Kenneth Sebens
7) FHL Undergraduate Seminar
Dr. Charles O'KellyBiology 490: 1 credit
Course description: One lecture per week by a research scientist; all students are encouraged to attend.
For general information about the Marine Biology Quarter
contact: Stacy Markman,
UW students are encouraged to contact the Student Coordinators in their respective departments:
Aquatic & Fishery Science: Trina Sterry
Biology: Emily Beyer
Biology: Janet Germeraad
Marine Affairs: Michele Berg
Oceanography: Michelle Townsend
Program on the Environment: Michelle Hall
Program on the Environment: Joe Kobayashi
To apply, students should (a) follow the application procedures and (b) e-mail their preferred course choices to Stacy Markman.
Research Apprenticeship Program
Students from University of Washington may be eligible for funding from the Mary Gates Endowment for Students
Students from other universities may apply for limited financial aid from Friday Harbor Laboratories.
Pelagic Ecosystem Function in the San Juan Archipelago
Research Apprenticeship, Autumn 2013
15 credits, Ocean 492
Dr. Jan Newton
University of WashingtonBreck Tyler
University of California, Santa Cruz
Click here for more information
Now in its 10th year, this very successful apprenticeship uses the natural laboratory of the waters in San Juan Archipelago to investigate the workings of a unique pelagic (open water) ecosystem. Friday Harbor is an ideal place for pelagic ecosystem studies because here, inputs from oceanic realms and major river systems are mixed by powerful tidal currents, creating an oceanographically complex habitat that supports a diverse community of plankton, fishes, seabirds, and marine mammals.
For this apprenticeship, we use university research vessels to examine the patterns, interactions, and links among all the components of this complex marine ecosystem, to understand how oceanographic processes shape the spatial and temporal patterns of open water biotic communities. Our goal is to gather data to document ecosystem trends and to teach you methods that you can use throughout your career. To achieve this, we help you design and implement an independent but integrated research project that is the keystone of this program.
Our apprenticeship features formal instruction, independent fieldwork, and a collaborative learning environment. For the first two weeks, the instructors provide an overview of basic concepts and field and laboratory techniques. Throughout the rest of the quarter, we work together to examine spatial and temporal variability in the fall transitional season for five pelagic ecosystem components: physical oceanography, chemical oceanography (DO, chlorophyll) phytoplankton, zooplankton, and predators (birds and mammals). You will to learn research methods for all of these but will then select one for intense focus. Working as part of a cooperative research team, you will have the opportunity to collect and analyze field and laboratory data. You will also learn to report your findings in a professional manner, verbally and in a written scientific paper.
This apprenticeship is a unique opportunity for you to spend a quarter conducting meaningful field research in a stimulating but supportive environment. Your work, building on the findings of previous apprentices, will contribute to a valuable data set that may enable us to document long-term changes in the region. You will also have the opportunity to learn from professional scientists and to work collaboratively with students from other institutions, teaching the methods you have learned and facilitating peer-to-peer learning.
Enrollment limited to 12 apprentices. UW students earn “W” credits in this writing-intensive course.
For additional information contact: Jan Newton or Breck Tyler
Research Apprenticeship Program
Research Apprenticeship Program Information
Students from University of Washington may be eligible for funding from the Mary Gates Endowment for Students
Students from other universities may apply for limited financial aid from Friday Harbor Laboratories.
Independent Study for UW Graduate Students
During all quarters, graduate students may register for research with the consent of their faculty advisors.
600 Independent Study or Research
700 Master's Thesis
800 Doctoral Dissertation