Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 2 2012

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

History of Life on Earth explores the evolution of biodiversity, tracing the origin of life through to the major groups of living plants and animals. The key concepts of macroevolution and palaeontology (the study of fossils) are introduced. This provides a foundation for the unit¿s major focus, which is a broad investigation of the patterns and processes of diversification and extinction. The unit provides a foundation for understanding the origins and maintenance of biological diversity and how that diversity changes over geological time and is influenced by the physical environment and interactions among organisms. Major events in biodiversity, such as the extinction of dinosaurs and the adaptive radiation of mammals will be examined as case studies on the utility of combining data (e.g. fossils & DNA) from different research fields. This unit provides essential theoretical and practical knowledge as an introduction to palaeontology and macroevolution, allowing students from various disciplines to understand the broad historical processes that shaped life on this planet and the types of evidence used to interpret them. The unit will be particularly valuable for students intending to take higher level units in the life sciences, environmental sciences, ecology, geosciences, and education.

Aims

This unit aims to provide you with an understanding of evolutionary processes and the changing environmental conditions through time that influenced the history of life, leading up to the current patterns of biodiversity. The unit will provide you with practical experience in fossil plant and animal identification, classification and morphological interpretation. You will learn to use comparative methods to critically evaluate evolutionary hypotheses from multiple data sources, such as fossils, DNA and biogeography. In addition the unit will enable you to draw upon evolutionary theory and our knowledge of past evolution to better understand the likely evolutionary consequences of present environmental changes.

Objectives

Successful completion of the unit will promote your ability to:

1. Understand the patterns and processes of animal and plant evolution through time.
2. Identify fossils, interpret their morphological features and use their distribution in sedimentary rocks to interpret past environments.
3. Understand the major climatic and environmental changes that have shaped the development of life on Earth and their relationships to mass extinctions and biotic radiations in the past and that may help in predicting biodiversity changes into the future.
4. Understand how different scientific disciplines have contributed to reconstructing evolutionary history.

Content

The unit covers the following topics in both theoretical and applied terms:

• Fundamental concepts and processes of the evolution of life.


• Identification, classification, and morphological interpretation of fossils.


• Changes in diversity and biological community relationships through time.


• Interpretation of ancient environments from fossil evidence.


• Comparative methods for testing evolutionary hypotheses from modern (e.g. DNA) and fossil data.


• The nature and causes of mass extinctions.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

The unit combines lectures, library research and practical exercises to integrate theoretical and applied knowledge and concepts. Lectures: 2 hours per week for 13 weeks. Practical: 2 hours per week for 13 weeks (Practical classes will incorporate both applied evolutionary biology and palaeontological exercises and practicals designed to enhance the students' skills in understanding and presenting literature reviews). One of the practicals is a trip to the Queensland Museum and another practical will involve a day trip to a fossil site.

Assessment

Assessment is distributed over a final examination, several laboratory/practical/theory progress exams and a literature review, so as to include both knowledge-based examinations and practical project-oriented work.Feedback will be provided to students through the ongoing progress examinations. This feedback will allow students to assess their progress and chart their advancement through the unit.

Assessment name: Laboratory/Practical
Description: Theory and practical knowledge will be assessed four times over the duration of the semester. Each test will allow you to demonstrate your understanding of theoretical concepts or practical skills in recognising and identifying living or fossil groups and interpreting either their ecology or the sedimentary environments in which they were preserved.
Relates to objectives: 1, 2, 3, 4
Weight: 25%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Throughout Semester

Assessment name: Literature Review
Description: Undertake library and web-based research on four fossil groups, detailing their systematic, stratigraphic/geographic range, preservation potential and ecological roles. Review the role of one of these fossil groups in the development of a major concept in evolutionary biology. Review the role of another group in palaeoenvironment interpretation.
Relates to objectives: 1, 2, 3
Weight: 25%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 11

Assessment name: Examination (Theory)
Description: Theory final examination.
Relates to objectives: 1, 3, 4
Weight: 50%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Exam Period

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

Text:
There is no set main text for NQB202. A number of the lectures will cover and expand upon material from Darwin¿s ¿The Origin of Species¿ and significant research papers, all of which are provided online. Limited numbers of this text are available from the bookshop.

For students looking for a text that covers many aspects of the course material, I recommend ¿Introduction to Paleobiology and the Fossil Record¿ (1st edition) by Benton and Harper (2009), Wiley Publishers.

A secondary text that will be very useful for you is ¿Biology¿ (8th edition) (2009) by Campbell, Reece and Meyers, Pearson Education Australia. This is the same text as for SCB112 in 1st semester, and it contains many useful chapters for the present unit.

Another text, ¿Fossils at a Glance¿ (2nd edition) by C Milsom & S Rigby (2010), Blackwell Science, Oxford. 155pp., is suggested as a useful basic introduction to fossils and may be particularly useful for the practical classes. Limited numbers of this text are available from the bookshop.

Risk assessment statement

The unit consists of classroom-based lectures, discussions and practicals, all of which are extremely low risk activities. Risk assessments for field trips identify several low impact risks, including: travel; slips and trips; animal bites, and animal and plant stings. Students are provided with a health and safety manual detailing health, safety and emergency procedures associated with laboratory and field activities. Students are required to read, understand and put into practice all safety guidelines. Safety considerations associated with the field trips will be discussed in pre-trip briefings with printed notes related to safety issues being distributed where appropriate

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 29-May-2012