Undergraduate Course: Palaeontology (EASC09006)
Course Outline
| School |
School of Geosciences |
College |
College of Science and Engineering |
| Course type |
Standard |
Availability |
Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) |
SCQF Level 09 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Credits |
10 |
| Home subject area |
Earth Science |
Other subject area |
None |
| Course website |
None |
|
|
| Course description |
Fossils provide outstanding tools for temporal resolution and the interpretation of past surface conditions. This course will explore how fossils can be used by geologists and the reasons why they are useful. Limitations to their utility will also be discussed. The course will concentrate on the most commonly encountered groups of fossils and will introduce a wide range of tools for use in extracting information from them. The course will comprise lectures, specimen-based practicals and the extensive use of computer-based resources. Fossils are the remains of life on Earth, and they record important information about the origin, diversity and evolution of life. This course will concentrate on the biologically important aspects of palaeontology, evolution, palaeoecology and extinction. The interface between molecular biology and historical biology will be explored and complementary techniques identified and assessed. The course will comprise lectures, specimen-based practicals and the extensive use of computer-based resources. No previous knowledge is assumed. |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Delivery period: 2010/11 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)
|
WebCT enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| King's Buildings | Laboratory | | 1-11 | | 15:00 - 15:50 | | | | | King's Buildings | Laboratory | | 1-11 | | 16:10 - 17:00 | | | | | King's Buildings | Lecture | | 1-11 | | 14:00 - 14:50 | | | |
| First Class |
First class information not currently available |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
| Students will leave this course with an appreciation of the importance of fossils: how they are used to reconstruct past conditions and for documenting patterns of evolution and extinction. Learning will be achieved through lectures, specimen based practicals, computer based resources and fieldwork. This course will concentrate on the most commonly encountered groups of fossils and will introduce a wide range of tools for use in extracting information from them including the principles of DNA research in foraminifera, how to build a phylogenetic tree from DNA patterns in modern planktonic foraminifera and how to combine observations on modern plankton and the fossil record to obtain a comprehensive picture of underlying processes driving evolution in the ocean. Students will understand the principles of biostratigraphy, reading range charts, understanding zonations and will be skilled at reading the fossil record. Students will be able to link biodiversity patterns with their underlying geological extraterrestrial and environmental processes. Students will have a critical understanding of a selection of the principal theories in palaeontology as well as a detailed knowledge of a few areas, particularly Silurian fossils of the Pentland hills, Mesozoic fossils and extinction in the ocean at the K/T boundary. |
Assessment Information
| 50% degree exam; 50% assessment of practical work. |
| Please see Visiting Student Prospectus website for Visiting Student Assessment information |
Special Arrangements
| Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser |
Prof Dick Kroon
Tel: (0131 6)50 4509
Email: D.Kroon@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary |
Miss Emma Latto
Tel: (0131 6)50 8510
Email: emma.latto@ed.ac.uk |
|
copyright 2010 The University of Edinburgh -
1 September 2010 5:47 am
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