MEES484/684
In Spring 2026, Dr. Feng Chen (chenf@umces.edu) and Dr. Jacob Cram (jcram@umces.edu) will be teaching the MEES 684/484 course – Marine Microbial Ecology. This is a 3-credit course taught every other year and open to undergraduate students (MEES484). Graduate students should register for MEES684. This course presents a survey of marine microbial ecology, proceeding from seminal discoveries and the development of widely used molecular tools to current advances. The course will cover a suite of microorganisms, with particular emphasis on bacteria (including cyanobacteria), archaea, micro-eukaryotes, and viruses. Students will become familiar with their population dynamics, genetic diversity, ecological interactions, microscale processes, and biogeochemical cycling in marine environments.
Classes will be taught over Zoom on Tuesday and Thursday from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm Eastern Time. Typically, instructors or guest lecturers will give a lecture on Tuesday, and student presentations of the literature, followed by student-led discussions on Thursday.
If you are interested in this class and want to know more about it, feel free to contact any of the course instructors. The first class will be on Tuesday, January 27.
Feng Chen, Professor
IMET-UMCES
410-234-8866