Back to Marine Biology
American Museum of Natural History

Marine Biology

This course is about life in the oceans, from the sunlit surface to the inky depths, from microscopic phytoplankton to the great blue whale. The ocean is among the world’s most inhospitable environments for scientific research, which is why we know as much about the surface of the moon as we do the bottom of the sea. This course uncovers the evolutionary history of marine organisms, adaptations to life in water, the behavior and functional morphology of sea animals, interactions between species, and current threats. Throughout the course, we meet scientists who are developing ingenious solutions for overcoming challenges and are making remarkable discoveries. By evaluating these cases and analyzing real scientific data, we come to understand some of the ways that life has adapted to diverse ocean habitats, how it interacts with the physical environment and with other organisms, and why it matters to us.

Status: Life Sciences
Status: Environmental Issue
BeginnerCourse7 hours

Featured reviews

JD

5.0Reviewed Oct 14, 2023

A fascinating, sometimes beautiful, sometimes disturbing summary of ocean life, resources, and threats from pollution and overfishing.

DR

5.0Reviewed Sep 13, 2024

Such an interesting course, I completed it in five days which shows how intriguing and captivating it is. Very informative and just so awesome. So worth it.

BR

4.0Reviewed Jul 3, 2025

The course was excellent and well structured. Only issue is that charging $49 for a certificate is really unprofessional. This is not a university degree program.

MH

5.0Reviewed Jan 27, 2025

Wonderful course! Truly gave me a foundational knowledge of many topics pertinent to the field of Marine Biology. Beyond that, it was also enjoyable and engaging.

JJ

5.0Reviewed Oct 29, 2023

I really enjoyed this course. I think it was a good blend between essays and videos, and provided an in-depth dive into various fields in Marine Biology, and overall was very informative.

CD

5.0Reviewed Nov 26, 2024

Great course, very informative, had a variety of topics so it wasn't all the same. All recourses were great quality, overall an amazing course to take. Just got my overall grade of 96.68%!!

CR

5.0Reviewed Jun 12, 2024

I think this was a very informative course. I learned a lot of new things that i wasen't fully aware of and i am now a lot more interested in learning more.

AB

5.0Reviewed Mar 17, 2025

I did this course in High School and learned a lot from it. If you're interested in going into marine Bio I would definitely recommend taking this!

NK

5.0Reviewed Nov 10, 2024

This is a great course I throughly enjoyed it. It is informative and covers many basic concepts and wide range of important topics.

JH

5.0Reviewed Nov 1, 2024

A brief but very educational course. I'm very glad I took it. I hope I get more courses on this topic here though. Hopefully credited ones.

AK

5.0Reviewed Dec 30, 2025

The subject I studied has been invaluable. To be honest, I have learned more about marine ecosystems than I ever have before.

HJ

4.0Reviewed Jul 25, 2024

A nice course to get the spectrum of marine biology. I would recommend it especially for people like myself who don't have a real foundation in the subject.

All reviews

Showing: 20 of 152

Caroline Keller
2.0
Reviewed Apr 29, 2024
Elena Khavin
5.0
Reviewed Sep 25, 2023
Nik Nobody
5.0
Reviewed Sep 27, 2023
John Dziak
5.0
Reviewed Oct 14, 2023
Aakriti
5.0
Reviewed Jun 25, 2023
Луцив Оксана Александровна
5.0
Reviewed Nov 20, 2023
Mrudula R
5.0
Reviewed Jul 18, 2024
Vojtěch Poloch
5.0
Reviewed Sep 28, 2024
mashira emdad
5.0
Reviewed Jun 18, 2024
Taekabu Tebwaraina
5.0
Reviewed Aug 9, 2023
Carlos Gatmaitan
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Reviewed Jun 16, 2024
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Reviewed Mar 13, 2025
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Reviewed Jun 8, 2025
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Reviewed Apr 29, 2025
Ana Jimenez
5.0
Reviewed Dec 10, 2024
Hudson Segnit
5.0
Reviewed Nov 14, 2023
Veeranshi Makdani
5.0
Reviewed Oct 31, 2024
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5.0
Reviewed Jan 30, 2025
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5.0
Reviewed Mar 28, 2024
Camila Victória De Oliveria Furlani Ribeiro
5.0
Reviewed May 2, 2025