SIO 136 2026 Fall

SIO hosts an undergraduate Marine Biology major, which requires all students to take SIO 136 (Marine Biology Laboratory). A key feature of this course—an at-sea experience aboard the R/V Gordon Sproul—was suspended due to COVID-19 and growing class sizes. We now seek to reinstate it with 2 ship days per quarter (Fall and Spring only) in 2026. With 72 students enrolled, we propose four half-day cruises per quarter, each accommodating ~24 students plus instructors and technical experts (~30 total participants per trip). Cruise goals include: (1) demonstrating tools used to study marine organisms, (2) collecting hydrographic data to illustrate features of the southern California shelf (e.g., thermocline, chlorophyll max, oxygen/pH declines), (3) towing for phytoplankton, zooplankton, and invertebrate larvae, and (4) surveying midwater communities using an IKMWT. Cruises would take place outside San Diego Bay over ~4-hour periods and have been shortened from past years to fit the larger class. This cruise provides the only at-sea experience required for all Marine Biology majors, offering hands-on exposure to oceanographic research and organisms not observable from shore. Some samples will be brought back for lab analysis. This proposal satisfies the Class Cruise/Instruction at Sea category.