TIGP Signature Course-Ecology Masterclass@Taiwan
EMT 1 : Next-generation mentality and knowledge for conservation
EMT 2 : Marine Conservation Biology and Diversity: Ecology of the Northeast Coast of Taiwan
EMT 3 : Ecology and evolution of marine symbiosis diversity: Animal-algal associations of the Northeast Coast of Taiwan
The aim of this course is to study the ecology of unique habitats in Taiwan and use modern technology, including NGS and Oxford Nanopore sequencing, to test some ecological hypotheses in these habitats. The students will have both theoretical and hands-on training for the entire experimental pipeline: ecological fundamentals, hypothesis testing, field training, molecular biology for genomics analysis, bioinformatics, data analysis and statistical testing, and scientific manuscript writing. A semester course, in contrast to a shorter workshop format, allows students to digest all the information and conduct both the wet and dry experiments on real (not mock) samples, ideally producing a bona fide manuscript.
EMT 1 (2021) was successfully run and focused on the question of supply-side ecology using Green Island as the main study site. This first iteration was piloted by Biodiversity Research Center (BRC) PIs.
EMT2 (2022) was focused on addressing whether the protection of fish in Taiwan waters is associated with an expected expansion of its genetic diversity through larger populations. It was a collaboration between BRC and Institute for Cellular and Organismic Biology (ICOB) PIs. The main study site was based out of the ICOB Marine Research Station in Yilan.
EMT 3 (2024) was to investigate the biodiversity of the acoel Waminoa and their algal symbionts in the Northeast Coast of Taiwan. The goal is to reconstruct the evolutionary history and ecological niche of the association among corals, Waminoa, and the Symbiodiniaceae or Amphidinium symbionts. The second is to obtain the mitochondrial, chloroplast, and possibly nuclear genomes of these species. We will introduce students to some basic developmental biology.