2. How to determine your assigned weekly essay question(s)? You will be answering the “Study Guide Questions” (found under Course Content), for the assigned weekly textbook chapters listed in your Class and Assignment Schedule. These are excellent questions representing the most important concepts in our course. Therefore, if you cut-and-paste your classmates’ correct answers to these weekly questions, you will have created an excellent Study Guide (questions plus answers) for studying for your final exam. To determine your assigned question(s), go to the Navigation Bar, Roster, select the Students tab, alphabetize by student’s last name, then count down the list of students to your name. That number is your student number. You only need to check this number once each week, as students will drop the class, causing your number to change. Now, go to the last paragraph in this document and use your class Week number and your student number to determine your assigned essay question(s) to answer. Don’t be concerned that more than one student does the same question(s), as student numbers will change when students drop the course.

3. Mechanics a. Your discussion directions will direct you to submit your work by selecting Start a New Thread. Do not use attachments. b. After the week is over, the discussion is closed to further input so that we can move forward to the next week’s discussions. I will not respond to every discussion that is made, but will be following your submissions and responses, and interjecting when I feel it is appropriate. c. I will interact weekly with each student using a completed discussion grading rubric, so be sure to read them for my feedback. The last paragraph explains where to find them in LEO.

4. Expectations a. Your submission must be thorough, concise, positive, and in essay form using effective writing, with a length of one or two single-spaced paragraphs totaling 10-15 sentences (not including the question(s) or references). Question(s) should be in bold font. Answers should discuss the concept in DETAIL to show your understanding of the topic. If you need more scholarly information on your topic, consider an internet search or a second textbook. b. Your submission must be paraphrased (as explained in UMUC’s “How to Avoid Plagiarism” self-study module), i.e. written in your own words. Do not copy or cut-and-paste from any source. Do not use direct quotes. The reason I insist on this is because (1) student comprehension is significantly increased by paraphrasing instead of copying verbatim material, and (2) UMUC considers copying-and-pasting another author’s work to be plagiarism. Paraphrasing also allows me to identify, and subsequently correct, any misconceptions a student may have with the course material. I will not give credit to an input that gives little detail, or uses verbatim text from an internet site, our course materials, or other source. c. Use APA in-text and reference list citations, which are explained on UMUC’s APA Citation Examples web page, as well as in UMUC’s “How to Avoid Plagiarism” self-study module. Liberally use in-text citations to cite material which is not your own. Use our course materials as your primary reference. You may use other scholarly, peer-reviewed references in addition to our course materials. 1) If using an electronic textbook, use the provided physical textbook page numbers for your citations. 2) If you wish to add an internet reference, be sure to use a paragraph number in its in-text citation if the reference has no page number. The internet address should also be a “hot link” which allows the reader to click on it and be taken directly to the page where you found the information. 3) Use only scholarly references, dated no older than 10 years. Do not use dictionary references. Do not cite commercial web sites (URL ending in “.com”) since they are not scholarly (i.e. peer-reviewed). d. I will evaluate effective writing based on the Maryland Statewide English Composition standard for undergraduate writing which states that writing should be “substantially free of errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and mechanics” to earn a “C” grade. e. I will grade your first submission of that week; therefore, submit only final, not draft, versions of your work. For effective writing assistance, you may wish to have UMUC’s Effective Writing Center review your work before submission. f. No late submissions are accepted. Before the deadline, use the “Edit” function to correct errors that I bring to your attention.

5. Discussion example with errors. To read error comments, you will need to use Microsoft Word and select View => Print Layout. Paragraph 5 provides a corrected version.

Discussion subject line: Jones Comment by Dennis Whitford: Missing question number

2. Differentiate between marine biology, biological oceanography, and oceanography. Comment by Dennis Whitford: Did not bold question number and question, Marine Biology – Nursing Bay.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

Differentiate between marine biology, biological oceanography, and oceanography

Introduction

We all know that there’s a difference between marine biology and oceanography. These separate fields of study can seem like they’re all the same thing, but they actually cover different topics and have very different goals. So if you’re trying to figure out what kind of job you’d like in this field, let’s take a look at how these two branches overlap so that you can make an informed decision!

Biological oceanography is the study of marine life.

Biological oceanography is the study of marine life. It includes:

• The study of how organisms interact with each other, their environment, and their genetic makeup;

• A better understanding of physical processes that affect living things; and

• Discoveries about species’ migratory patterns, evolutionary history and geographic distribution.

Marine biology is the branch of biology concerned with animal and plant life in salt water.

Marine biology is the branch of biology concerned with animal and plant life in salt water. It includes the study of fish, sharks, dolphins, crustaceans and other aquatic organisms.

It also includes the study of how these animals interact with each other and their environment. This field can include topics such as conservation efforts to protect endangered species or ways to manage fisheries sustainably so that they don’t overfish their resources (e.g., too much fishing).

Marine biologists often work for organizations like NOAA Fisheries or universities who have research programs focused on this area; however there are also many opportunities available to those who want to teach others about marine life through volunteer teaching positions at aquariums or zoos around the world!

Oceanography, a branch of Earth sciences, refers to the study of oceans.

Oceanography, a branch of Earth sciences, refers to the study of oceans. This can be broken down into three main fields: physical oceanography, biological oceanography and marine geology.

Oceanographers study both physical and chemical properties of the oceans; they also study interactions between the atmosphere and water masses (including evaporation), salinity changes at various depths in different parts of our planet’s surface that affects everything from weather patterns to global warming!

While each is a separate field of study, they overlap in many ways

While each is a separate field of study, they overlap in many ways. Both marine biology and oceanography are branches of the biological sciences that focus on the physical properties of water, including its chemical makeup and temperature. Oceanography is the science of studying oceans—including how they work, such as currents or waves. Marine biology focuses more on life in these bodies of water: what it looks like (including plants), how it behaves (such as reproduction), how it interacts with other species through food chains or predation/parasitism relationships, etc.—and this can include both human uses (such as fishing) as well as nonhuman uses such as tourism or recreation at beaches around the world.

Conclusion

I hope that this helps you understand the differences between these fields and why they are important. If you want to learn more about marine biology, check out our blog post about it here!