Marine Zoology Course

QEL842

Marine Zoology Diploma Course

Please click here for more information about course accreditation

Anyone 18 or over and studying our Marine Zoology Diploma Course is eligible for ZSL (Zoological Society of London) Fellowship.

Marine Zoology Diploma
Level 3 (Advanced)

This Marine Zoology Course gives students a thorough grounding in the subject of marine life from the evolution of life in the oceans to the amazing adaptations to the harsh marine environment.

It covers marine invertebrates and vertebrates from the smallest zooplankton to the largest animals that ever lived.

It explores how all marine life is linked within food webs.

The course covers the extraordinary marine adaptations of animals living in the sea and discusses the threats to marine life and how we can conserve our oceans.

This Advanced Level 3 Diploma course is suitable for anyone with an interest in marine life and is valuable preparation for anyone wishing to pursue a career in marine zoology.

Module 1

Did Life Evolve in the Ocean?

Module 1 of the Marine Zoology Course explores the theories of how life evolved in the oceans and the animals that live in one of the most extreme environments on Earth. Learn about animals that display amazing adaptations. Learn about how life evolved in the oceans from the simplest single-celled animals to the complex animals we see in our oceans today.

Module 2

Marine Invertebrates

This module includes animals such as sponges, jellies and corals, marine worms, molluscs, crustaceans, echinoderms and other marine invertebrates. The vast majority of animals in the sea are invertebrates and many are the oldest and most beautiful of the marine creatures. 

Module 3

The Web of Life in the Sea

Food webs are fundamental to life in the oceans and are based on primary productivity – tiny phytoplankton and zooplankton that support life in the sea. Learn about the diversity and distribution of some of the smallest organisms in the ocean and discover how food webs work.

Module 4

Marine vertebrates

Learn about marine vertebrates such as bony fish, cartilaginous fish (sharks and rays), marine reptiles and marine mammals. This module explores an amazing diversity of animals found from the poles to the tropics.

Module 5

 Marine Adaptations

The marine environment is one of the harshest places on Earth and the animals living there show remarkable adaptations to life in the sea. Learn how marine animals are able to live and reproduce and how they sense their environment, reproduce, respire, cope with salt water and how they feed and move in the cold dense water of the oceans.

Module 6

Marine Conservation

There are many threats to marine life including pollution, overfishing and global warming. Many threats are caused by humans and we look at how we are impacting marine life and what we can do to conserve our oceans as an important habitat.