GEOL
326 - Paleontology, Paleoecology and Paleoenvironments
Description
This is an interdisciplinary
course in which students will use paleontology and sedimentology to
interpret ancient environments and the ecosystems they supported.
Students will begin with a review of aspects of geology required for
paleontological studies: geologic time, plate tectonics, and
sedimentary rocks and their depositional environments. There will also
be a review of evolutionary theory and ecological and paleoecological
principles. The bulk of the course is split into two sections. First,
an overview of the major depositional environments, and the typical
fossil organisms that are found preserved in them through time. This
will be followed by case studies in which we will examine several
important fossiliferous units in both marine and terrestrial settings,
and use paleontological (biological) and sedimentological (geological)
data to reconstruct the paleoecology and ancient physical environment.
Lab sessions will include fossil identification and analysis and
several field visits to sites in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and
Connecticut.
This is a lecture-lab course.
Target
audience
- Environmental
Science majors:
required.
- Environmental
Science minors:
fulfills 300-level requirement (alternative: GEOL
333 Environmental Geology).
- Environmental
Studies majors/minors:
counts as an elective.
- Biology
majors: counts as an elective
- Earth
Science teacher
certification: fulfills 300-level geology requirement
(alternative: GEOL 333 Environmental Geology).
Prerequisite
GEOL 105
Fundamentals of Geology or GEOL 101
Introduction to Geology or SBIO 101
Introduction to Biology
or SBIO 110
Fundamentals of Biology 1.
Offered
Every Fall.
Draft
syllabus, Fall 2009
Fossil
discovery on class field trip (April 2005)
- Late Cretaceous Sea-Turtle
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This page last updated on March 10th, 2009.