GLY 5106, PALEOECOLOGY & PALEOENVIRONMENTS

SPRING 2004, MW 2:00-3:15

SYLLABUS          

 

 

 

Course Description and Objectives - This multidisciplinary course teaches students about interpretations of past environmental changes.  The course integrates paleontology, biology, sedimentology, stratigraphy, and geochemistry. Topics include the synecology of fossils, paleobiodiversity, community change over geologic time, sedimentary facies and environments, completeness and continuity of the sedimentary record, skeletal mineralogy, stable isotopes of oxygen and carbon, paleotemperature, paleobiogeography and global patterns of evolutionary and climate change. The activities days are designed to give students a taste of the scientific discovery process, and to increase their skills in problem solving and deductive reasoning.

Course Outline

DATE

TOPIC

M  Jan. 5

Introduction to paleoecology and reconstructing paleoenvironments

W  Jan. 7

CLASS CANCELLED

M  Jan. 12

Sedimentary environments & completeness of the fossil record (Ch. 1)

W  Jan. 14

Discussion Group on sedimentary environments

M  Jan. 19

UNIVERSITY HOLIDAY:  Martin Luther King Jr. birthday

W  Jan. 21

Taphonomy and preservation (Ch. 3)

M  Jan. 26

Trace fossils and substrata (Ch. 5)

W  Jan. 28

Discussion Group on taphonomy and trace fossils

M  Feb. 2

Water depth indicators: fossil associations (Ch. 2 & 6)

W  Feb. 4

Discussion Group on water depth indicators

M  Feb. 9

Temperature & salinity indicators: fossil associations and stable isotopes (Ch. 2 & 6) PROJECT TITLES DUE

W  Feb. 11

CLASS CANCELLED

M  Feb. 16

Discussion Group on temperature and salinity indicators

W  Feb. 18

Nutrient & upwelling indicators: fossil associations and stable isotopes (Ch. 2 & 6)

M  Feb. 23

Discussion Group on nutrient and upwelling indicators

W  Feb. 25

Indicators of oxygenation (Ch. 2 & 6)

M  Mar. 1

Discussion Group on oxygenation indicators

W  Mar. 3

Paleocommunities and Diversity as ecological indices (Ch. 7)

ABSTRACTS DUE

M  Mar. 8

Discussion Group on paleocommunties and diversity

W  Mar. 10

Paleobiogeography and distributions of taxa (Ch. 8)

M  Mar. 15

Discussion Group on paleobiogeography

OUTLINES AND BIBLIOGRAPHIES DUE

W  Mar. 17

Global paleoenvironments through time, I. (Ch. 9)

M  Mar. 22

SPRING BREAK

W  Mar. 24

SPRING BREAK

M  Mar. 29

Discussion Group on paleoenvironments through time

W  Mar. 31

Global paleoenvironments through time, II. (Ch. 9)

RESEARCH PAPERS DUE 

M Apr. 5

Paleoenvironments of the recent Ice Age

W  Apr. 7

PRESENTATIONS AND CRITIQUES 

M  Apr. 12

PRESENTATIONS AND CRITIQUES

W  Apr. 14

PRESENTATIONS AND CRITIQUES

 

Instructor  - Dr. Laurel Collins, collinsl@fiu.edu,  (305) 348-1732.  Office hours (PC 435) M 9-10:30, T 2-3:30.

Textbook  - P.J. Brenchley & D.A.T. Harper, 1998, Palaeoecology: Ecosystems, Environments and Evolution: Chapman and Hall, N.Y., $65. 

Readings for Monday Discussion Groups  - will be on electronic reserve in the library the Thursday before each meeting (accessed through the FIU Library web page under Course Reserves).  Discussion date  is written at the top of each article.

Research Paper  - Abstract, outline, bibliography, paper and presentation on a chosen topic. The presentation should be 15 minutes long, including 2-5 minutes for questions. The paper should be roughly 7-12 pages long (single spaced). 

Grading  -  The maximum points you can earn is 100: 20 points from class participation, 5 points from your written abstract, 5 points from the combined outline and bibliography for your research paper, 40 points from your research paper, 25 points from the presentation, and 5 points from your critiques of the other presentations. Final grades are determined as follows: 90-100 points = A, 80-89 points = B, 70-79 points = C, 60-69 points = D, <50 points = F.

Class participation includes contributing to all discussions of articles and occasional questions or comments during lectures. Someone who contributes well regularly will earn the full 20 points. Points will be deducted for missing discussions, not reading articles, and not contributing very much in general.