Florida International University

Paleoenvironments

Course Syllabus - DRAFT TO BE REVISED IN NOVEMBER 2009

(http://www.fiu.edu/~collinsl/PaleoenvironmentsSyllabus.htm)

BSC 4304 Environments of the Past

(satisfies Ecology distribution requirement for Biology majors)

BSC 5302 Ecosystems of the Past

GLY 5108 Paleoecology and Paleoenvironments

Spring 2010

Tu/Th 9:30-10:45 am

3 credits

Course Description and Objectives - This multidisciplinary course teaches students how to interpret environmental changes of the past through an integration of paleobiology, ecology, sedimentology, stratigraphy, and geochemistry. Topics include the synecology of fossils, paleobiodiversity, changes in communities over geologic time, sedimentary facies and environments, skeletal mineralogy, stable isotopes of oxygen and carbon, paleotemperature, paleobiogeography, and regional to global patterns of paleoenvironmental change.  The main objective is to develop an understanding of how environments on Earth have changed through time, and how this is studied. The activities days give students a taste of the scientific discovery process, and increase their skills in problem solving and deductive reasoning.

Course Outline

DATE	TOPIC
Tu	Introduction to the course Reconstructing paleoenvironments (Last day to drop/add courses without fees)
Th	Sedimentary environments (Ch. 1)
Tu	Activities 1: Sedimentary environments
Th	Taphonomy and preservation (Ch. 3)
Tu	Activities 2: ALL CLASSES CANCELLED AT UNIVERSITY PARK
Th	Trace fossils and bioturbation (Ch. 5)
Tu	Activities 3: Taphonomy and preservation
Th	Water depth indicators: fossil associations (Ch. 2 & 6)
Tu	Activities 4: Water depth indicators
Th	Temperature & salinity indicators: fossil associations, stable isotopes (Ch. 2 & 6)
Tu	Activities 5: Temperature indicators
Th	Nutrient & upwelling indicators: fossil associations & stable isotopes (Ch. 2 & 6)
Tu	Indicators of oxygenation (Ch. 2 & 6)
Th	Activities 6:  Review and practice questions
Tu	MIDTERM EXAM
Th	Paleocommunities and diversity as ecological indices (Ch. 7)
Tu	Activities 7: Paleocommunties and diversity
Th	Paleobiogeography and distributions of taxa (Ch. 8)
Tu	Activities 8: Paleobiogeography
Th	Global paleoenvironments through time, I. Diversification (Ch. 9)
Tu	Activities 9: Paleoenvironments through time
Th	Global paleoenvironments through time, II. Extinction (Ch. 9)
Tu	Paleoenvironments of the recent Ice Age (no textbook assignment)
Th	THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Tu	Fossil terrestrial ecosystems (Ch. 10)
Th	Activities 10: Terrestrial ecosystems
Tu	Case studies from the American tropics (no textbook assignment)
Th	Activities 11:  Review and practice questions for the final exam
Tu             9:45-11a.m.	FINAL EXAM and COURSE grades

Instructor  - Dr. Laurel Collins, Biological Sciences and Earth Sciences.  Contact information:  collinsl@fiu.edu,  (305) 348-1732.  Office hours (PC 435) on Mon. 2-3:30 and Tues. 10:45-12:15.

Textbook  - P.J. Brenchley & D.A.T. Harper, 1998, Palaeoecology: Ecosystems, Environments and Evolution: Chapman and Hall, N.Y.  $49 (used) at FIU Bookstore.

Grading  - Final grades are based on the assigned activities (33%), midterm exam (30%), and final exam (37%). The assignment of points to grades follows the traditional percentages: A =93-100%, A- = 90-92%, B+ =87-89%, B = 83-86%, B- = 80-82%, C+ = 77-79%, C = 73-76%, C- = 70-72%, D+ = 67-69%, D = 63-66%, D- = 60-62%, F = 0-59%. The final exam is not cumulative, and tests students only on the material covered after the midterm exam.

Activities:  These are designed for more informal, active learning. They vary from week to week but include working with specimens, discussing assigned articles, and written exercises. There are 11 scheduled days of activities, with 3% of your grade earned each activities day.

Exams cover the information from class and the assigned parts of the textbook, and exclude parts of the textbook that have not been covered in class (e.g., Chapter 4). Makeup exams are rarely given, and are only given in extreme circumstances that can be well documented, such as serious illness, a death in the family, or a family emergency. Going out of town is not a valid reason for missing exams or planned activities, so if you have a trip scheduled for any of these times, do not take this course.

Grading for Graduate Students  - Final grades are based on assigned activities (20%), the midterm exam (25%), the final exam (25%), and a paper (20%) and short (12-minute) presentation (10%). The paper and presentation are due at the end of the semester. The paper should address some aspect of paleoenvironments, ideally relating your own thesis/dissertation research to the subject.