What is a habitat?

Habitats are specific areas where organisms can live. Within the marine realm, there are several unique habitats such as coral reefs, sandy shorelines, deep sea hydrothermal vents, and mangroves (these are all highlighted in your book, chapters 13-18, and will be discussed in class). Repeated worldwide, they are known as biomes, and can provide the basis for worldwide ecological relationships and ecosystem services for humans. For example, there are coral reefs in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans- they can grow anywhere the temperature is warm and the water is clear and shallow.

For this final project, you will craft a well-researched discussion paper detailing some of the current research being done within your habitat. You will sign up for a habitat, and then need to choose some sub-topic within (i.e., you are not going to talk about ALL coral reefs, but instead need to discuss a specific topic within coral reefs, like ocean acidification on coral reefs). This will be a thorough overview of the current research- with a minimum of 4 peer reviewed sources. Background information will be minimal, and examples of current research about the topic will be the majority of the discussion.

A discussion paper will require you to make a thesis statement (like a hypothesis) and then find points of evidence to either support or reject that statement. For example, I may say ‘oyster reef habitats are at great risk due to disease’. Then, I would need to find several peer-reviewed sources that talk about the effect of disease on oysters- it could be talking about changes in reproduction, death, shell deficiencies- anything that would either support or reject the statement. (If you don’t know what a discussion paper is, read the last section of a peer reviewed journal- the Discussion. That is what you are aiming to do).