Palaeobiology (The History of Life)
Paleobiology (or paleontology) is concerned with the history of life.
We are all aware of the important role that the dinosaurs played in
terrestrial ecosystems over the last couple of hundred million years,
but the record of life goes back much further than that, possibly to
four billion years. Over this time the Earth's surface and the oceans
have seen great creatures rise and fall, of which the dinosaurs make up just
one of many fascinating episodes.
The archives of time hold a vast array and selection of traces
of this past life, offering windows onto these lost worlds. We explore this
fossil record and develop the skills that will let us know how
reefs developed, how the land was colonized, and how giant meteorite
impacts
snuffed much of the biosphere, leaving a handful of survivors to
repopulate the
planet. By the end of the course you can expect to
have an in-depth appreciation of the entire tree of life.
For the relevant Part IA content, see the IA Palaeobiology Course, and the IA Dinosaurs and Fossil Vertebrates Course.
Last updated on 23-Jan-12 15:58