Explore Coastal Estuaries and Rocky Intertidal Shores

Situated on 130 acres of coastal property along Coos Bay in the southern Oregon coastal village of Charleston, the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB) is a vast, living classroom where small numbers of undergraduates and graduate students in biology, marine biology, general science, and environmental science study marine organisms in their natural habitat.

“An academic term at OIMB is completely different from a term in Eugene,” explains OIMB Director Craig Young. “Activities are scheduled around the tides, and the focus is on field work and hands-on experience with living marine organisms.”

At OIMB, a small fleet of boats makes it possible to explore the spectrum of marine habitats, from ocean to estuary. Students have access to an exceptionally rich, rocky intertidal shore teeming with colorful marine invertebrates, extensive near-shore kelp beds, and a fantastic variety of marine plants. The Charleston region also has outstanding opportunities to study marine birds and mammals. Located on the Pacific Migratory Flyway, many different types of seabirds use the bay and beaches throughout the year. Within miles of the institute, sea lions, elephant seals, and harbor seals can be observed in their native habitat. A recent group of OIMB students had the opportunity to work side-by-side with faculty and government workers to recover and autopsy a freshly dead killer whale.

The teaching and research laboratories are all equipped with running seawater tanks in which plants and animals are maintained under conditions similar to those in which they normally live. This permits all sorts of observations and experiments that are not possible on a typical university campus, explains Young. Virtually all courses incorporate research projects to teach students how to design experiments, analyze data and write scientific papers.

“Most students who come here consider their time at OIMB to be the highlight of their college experience,” adds Professor Young. 

• The University of Oregon offers the only Marine Biology degree in the Pacific Northwest
• Students who pursue a degree in marine biology receive the same solid background as a UO Biology major, but also experience several terms of field-based learning at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB)
• OIMB is a picturesque complex of laboratories, classrooms, and dormitories situated on 130 acres in the southern coastal fishing village of Charleston, Oregon

Sample Courses

Interdisciplinary Opportunities

Marine biology students spend time on the Eugene campus and at OIMB. In Eugene, students take introductory biology courses and fulfill chemistry, mathematics, physics, and general education requirements.

Students majoring in marine biology receive the same solid foundation in modern biology (including cell biology, molecular biology, evolutionary biology, physiology, and ecology) as a UO biology major. For this reason, marine biology students often find a given set of minors to be complimentary to the marine biology major, namely geology, environmental science, chemistry, and physics.

Student Work

Terra Hiebert was one of the first UO students to graduate with a degree in Marine Biology. In high school, Terra worked at a small aquarium in the coastal town of Seaside, Oregon. As a sophomore, Terra transferred to the University of Oregon to focus her studies on the marine environment she knows best.

Since then, Terra has spent as much time as possible at OIMB. “I really love it here,” Terra said during a telephone interview from the coastal facilities. “It’s a refreshing change from the busy life on the main campus; it’s smaller, and so casual. At OIMB you are immersed in marine biology,” Terra says. “I learn better in this kind of environment.”

“The faculty has been really helpful. You can go to them and ask for direction as far as focusing your field of study or future work, and they will help you figure it out,” says Terra.

Most recently, Terra conducted research on how the size of featherduster worm colonies affects the growth rate and size of individual worms. She says that working in fish and wildlife resource management is a likely career path, but adds, “Any job having to do with marine biology that would allow me to work with great people—outside—and I’d be perfectly content.” 

Selected Faculty Work

Professor of Biology Craig Young serves as Director of the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. Over the past 20 years, Craig and his students have made hundreds of dives to the sea floor in 8 different submersibles, and have worked at many marine laboratories in Europe, Asia, North America, Antarctica, and Australia. Currently they are investigating the reproduction of mussels and giant tube worms living at cold methane seeps near oil drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, and at hydrothermal vents found in areas of underwater volcanic activity in the eastern Pacific.

Professor Alan Shanks’ research interests center on the dispersal and transport of the larvae of marine invertebrates and fish. He investigates the interaction between physical oceanography and larval behavior, and how this controls dispersal. Recent investigations have studied the effect of upwelling and downwelling events on the cross-shelf distribution of larvae, and the role of very nearshore oceanography in controlling larval dispersal and settlement. He is also interested in the behavior of intertidal animals.

Professor Richard Emlet studies the functional morphology, biomechanics, ecology, and evolution of invertebrate organisms. He is interested in how developmental and evolutionary processes interact to produce morphological and life history patterns among marine organisms. His research efforts include larval biology, suspension feeding by microscopic organisms (larvae and protozoa), and evolution of sea urchin development.

Professor Nora Terwilliger and her research team are currently studying three related proteins that play separate and significant roles in the developmental physiology of the Dungeness crab. They are studying the differential expression and functions of these proteins during crustacean development and molting, as well as in response to environmental factors including temperature, salinity, and oxygen availability. 

Career Opportunities

Marine scientists are employed by universities and colleges, international organizations, federal and state agencies, private companies, nonprofit laboratories, and local governments, or they may be self-employed. The same careers opened to broadly trained biologists are also opened to marine biologists.

Marine biology is an appropriate degree leading to jobs in environmental, government, and biotechnology fields, and to careers in the medical professions. It is also a great major for pre-medical, pre-dental, and pre-veterinary students who want a broad exposure to the natural world before specializing in their profession.

Marine biology isn’t all about swimming with dolphins and whales, SCUBA diving, or spending time at sea on a vessel. Rather, a wide range of employment opportunities relevant to marine life are open to marine biology majors. Think about an aquarium or museum. Entire departments are devoted to graphic design, publishing, exhibit design, conservation research, public relations, education, and other areas. So even if you can’t stomach the open seas, you can still find a marine-related career that suits your talents and interests.

Contact Information
(541) 888-2581
(541) 888-3250 fax

Program banner photo credit: Nicole Perkins