This course examines ways in which wandering continents, shifting ocean basins, the rise and fall of mountains, the wax and wane of ice sheets, fluctuating sea level, and even crashing asteroids all shaped major changes in global biodiversity. Particular attention is drawn to the half dozen most extensive mass extinctions and what factors may have triggered them. Equal consideration is given to how the development of new ecosystems forever altered the physical world. The answers to these and other questions are elusive, but our wise stewardship of the planet and its present biodiversity may depend on our understanding of the past. Concepts of plate tectonics and island biogeography are applied to many aspects of the puzzle.
Evaluation is based on weekly quizzes and lab work, a midterm exam, and a final exam.