Marine Biology

Area	Sciences
Degree code	LM-6 Biology
Language	Italian/English
Access	Free – the adequacy of students’ knowledge will be tested
Venue	Ancona
Lectures	On site and online

Features and aims of the course

The course allows for the deepening of knowledge in biology and ecology of organisms, habitats and monitoring, health and changes in the environment in which they live. The course aims to train experts in the management of marine environments and in the conservation of biodiversity and marine biological resources, with skills related to the monitoring of coastal marine environments, to the assessment of the marine environment health, to recovery interventions and “ecological restoration” of degraded marine environments, aimed at enhancing the sector of Blue Growth.

The course allows students to acquire the methodologies to study biodiversity, to carry out sampling activities in the sea, laboratory analysis and statistical data processing. Students will have the opportunity to gain experience through on-field activities (e. g., sampling activities along the coastal strip, scientific scuba diving and educational trips in protected areas, also abroad), and therefore to acquire the tools and advanced skills necessary to enter the profession of Marine Biologist.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Marine biology and ecology (taught in English within the international Master’s degree)
Oceanography and sedimentary environment
Biodiversity of marine animals
Biodiversity of algae and marine plants
Algae ecophysiology
Marine conservation biology (taught in English within the international Master’s degree)
Biotechnology and blue growth
Field practices: Sampling design and census of marine communities (taught in English within the international Master’s degree)
Applied marine ecology (taught in English within the international Master’s degree)
Marine microbiology
Marine ecotoxicology (taught in English within the international Master’s degree)
Evolutionary biology of marine vertebrates
Field practices: Marine monitoring (taught in English within the international Master’s degree)
Quantitative methods in marine science (taught in English within the international Master’s degree)
Marine GIS and spatial planning (taught in English within the international Master’s degree)
Marine Protected Areas design and management (taught in English within the international Master’s degree)
Bioinformatics
Biology of Fisheries

YOUR FUTURE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

You will be able to work within:

National (e.g., Italian entities such as CNR, SZN, INOGS, ENEA, ISPRA) and international research entities
National and regional bodies in charge of environmental management (central authorities -Ministry of environment, territory and sea protection, Ministry of agricultural, food and forestry policies-, Regional offices, Italian regional agency for environmental protection ARPA) and of marine protected areas and oases
Fishing and acquaculture companies
Companies dealing with oil & gas and marine renewable energy
Companies managing environmental issues
Marine and maritime businesses
Professional and consulting firms dealing with environmental issues
Service companies dealing in the marine sector (including diving, nature guides)
You will be also able to work as a freelancer or teach at secondary school

STRENGTHS OF THE COURSE

Laboratory and on-field activities are a keystone of the course: they are carried out within multidisciplinary laboratories and through exercises in the sea (also through scientific diving), with the support of research boats aimed at sampling activities (ACTEA mobile laboratory).
Students can attend diving courses for free and obtain the diving license. During the course, students will have the opportunity to carry out diving activities and to deepen their knowledge through educational trips in Italy and abroad (Italian or foreign MPAs, or at laboratories in the Maldives or in Indonesia).
A very stimulating and highly scientific training environment, an international “laboratory” with foreign students coming from all around the world.

MASTER ERASMUS MUNDUS IMBRSea

The International Master of Science in Marine Biological Resources (IMBRSea) is a joint Master in the field of marine sciences organized by ten European universities, supported by the European Marine Biological Resource Center (EMBRC). IMBRSea is an Erasmus Mundus program which give students the opportunity to attend the best courses at leading European universities to respond to the rapidly growing sector of the blue bioeconomy and research on the sustainable use of marine resources.