Week 4 Systematics . 1 October 11 Week 8 Functional Morphology . Arthropoda Week 9 Paleoecology . Catch up on labs and do project. Week 15 Biostratigraphy.
Paleobiology emphasizes the study of fossils as organisms.
In this course you will be introduced to the vast array of information that may be gleaned through the study of fossil organisms. During lectures we will discuss the methods used to interpret the fossil record, and cover topics such as ontogeny, speciation, phylogeny and systematics, functional anatomy, biogeography, biostratigraphy, paleoecology, and macroevolution. The laboratories will focus on paleobiological principles that can be demonstrated by the major groups of invertebrates that are common in the geologic record. The primary goals of this class are to develop an understanding of the Earth's inhabitants through geologic time, to discuss how and where these organisms lived, how they interacted, and the relationships among these taxa. This information is the foundation upon which we can ask pertinent questions about the origin of life, as well as questions about the biotic response to climate and sea-level fluctuation though time, which is the essence of global change.