Location

Nikolai Pertsov White Sea Biological Station, Northern Russia

Time

4-25 July, 2012
Application closed May 1, 2012.

Language of instruction

English

Size of group

8-10 students

Lecturers

Dr. Elena N. Temereva
Artem Isachenko

Description

This is the classics of university practical field courses, which has been elaborated in detail during the last 40 years at the faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University. The course is obligatory for students of environmental and evolutionary biology. The course aims at:

1. 
   

   Consolidating previously gained theoretical and practical knowledge of major groups of sea invertebrates;



2. 
   

   Getting acquainted with basic local biotopes;



3. 
   

   Getting into the peculiarities of the invertebrate fauna of the White Sea;



4. 
   

   Mastering the skills of collecting and identifying the animals.

Some of the genera typically studied are: Mytilus, Littorina, Jera, Arenicola, Gammarus, Aulactinia, Buccunum, Balanus, Aeolida, Buccinum, Mya, Crangon,Priapulida, Pectinaria, Halocynthia, Molgula, Calanus, Aglantha, Sagitta, Aurelia, Cyanea, Bolinopsis, Hyperia.Normally academic day would be 7-10 hours with lunch and tea breaks. This would include daily field excursions of variable duration (1-4 hours of walk or/and boat trips); lectures; guided work with collected animals and individual independent work.

Read more… (PDF)

Prerequisites

The course is for students who have already taken a university course in general zoology or zoology of invertebrates. Skills of practical work with a microscope are an advantage.

Tuition fee

25 000 RUR (~810 USD, ~605 EUR as of December 02, 2011)

Included

20 days of instruction; boat* and pedestrian guided trips; housing
(* weather conditions can prevent boat trips due to safety reasons)

Additional expenses

• 
  

  Hot meals provided three times a day + hot tea on request; at ~400 RUR per day. Unfortunately, special meals, like Halal or Kashrut, or dietary meals like diabetic, low-cholesterol or gluten-free, etc. cannot be provided due to limited capacity. What is provided is a standard Russian cuisine. However, vegetarian meals could be provided on request (to be discussed ahead).



• 
  

  Train tickets ~7500 to ~10000 RUR (from/to Moscow) depending on train class; additionally local taxi starting at 600 RUR per person might be required depending on route selected



• 
  

  Optional boat excursions (sightseeing, trained while whales, etc.) at ~1000 RUR per person available



• 
  

  Limited selection of foodstuff  and essentials might be delivered to the Biostation on request twice per week



• 
  

  Diving opportunities to be specially discussed ahead



• 
  

  Optional one-night stay in Moscow to be specially discussed ahead

Contacts

cebs@mail.bio.msu.ru; +7 (495) 939 2785

Application and visa

The Faculty of Biology shall issue formal visa invitation for visiting WSBS, Moscow, St.-Petersburg (depending on the airports of arrival/departure). Please fill in the supplied application form, optionally supplement it with a CV/motivation letter (recommended) and return to us by May 1, 2012.

Web Links

WSBS official website: https://en.wsbs-msu.ru/
WSBS on Wikipedia (good informal description): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Sea_Biological_Station

Information of Use

How to get to the Faculty of Biology