GSCI 361, Spring
The course covers a range of topics central to modern paleobiology: how the fossil record informs our understanding of evolutionary processes including speciation; the causes and consequences of mass extinctions; how fossils help us tell time and reconstruct the Earth’s climactic and tectonic history; statistical analysis of the fossil record to reconstruct biodiversity through time; analysis of fossil morphology to recreate the biomechanics of extinct organisms; and using fossil communities to reconstruct past ecosystems. Weekly laboratory exercises focus on invertebrate collections as well as published datasets to provide a broad understanding of fossils and the methods we use to study the history of life on Earth. Multiple projects and one-semester long project using analytical tools in paleontology occur throughout the course. Multiple field trips to local exposures in New York and a weekend-long field trip to explore the paleontology of Ohio-Kentucky.
Most Recent Syllabus below
Examples of class activities
