Geology 251 - Paleontology and Geobiology

This course focuses on the history of life as preserved in the sedimentary rock record. Students will learn how paleontologists and geobiologists use skeletal fossils, molecular fossils, and geochemical signatures to ask and answer questions about the evolution of ancient life and Earth history. Students will study the origination, radiation, and extinction of major groups of organisms in the context of global environmental change, with an emphasis on invertebrate and microbial life. Laboratories include the systematic description, identification, and interpretation of fossils as well as quantitative techniques to solve paleontological problems. Three hours of lectures and three hours of laboratory. One weekend field trip.

Requisite: At least on GEOL course, recommended GEOL 112. Fall semester. Associate Professor Jones. 

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Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: independent research, group work, museum work, quantitative work, oral presentations, field work, lab work