Principles of Paleobiology ZOO 4114, Paleobiology GLY 4603, 

Advanced Paleontology GLY 5608

Prof. Laurel Collins

Spring 2013, MWF 2:00-2:50pm, PC 443

Description - introduction to concepts in paleobiology, including the nature of fossils, adaptations, systematics, evolutionary trends, origination and extinction, paleoecology and biogeography. 

Objectives - to integrate knowledge of organismal biology and geology, to test hypotheses and to apply quantitative approaches to understanding how life evolved into what it is today. 

Learning Outcomes - understanding of how life evolved, its major events, and how paleobiology is studied in the field and lab. 

COURSE OUTLINE

Pop Quiz Questions for Review

Instructor:  Prof. Laurel Collins, Department of Earth and Environment, and Department of Biological Sciences. Email (preferred): collinsl@fiu.edu, telephone (305) 348-1732.  Office hours are in PC 435 MF 10-11:30 or by appointment.

Textbook:  Principles of Paleontology, 2007, Foote and Miller, 3rd ed., W.H. Freeman and Co., 354pp., ISBN 9780716706137. Prices in FIU Bookstore: $133 (new) and $100 (used). OLD EDITIONS cannot be used.

Course Policies:  You are expected to maintain high standards of academic honesty. A student found in violation of these standards will earn an F and be reported to the Deans Office, no exceptions made. In accordance with FIU's policy on academic honesty as set forth in Section 2.44 of the Academic Affairs Policies and Procedures Manual (http://academic.fiu.edu/polman/sec2web.htm#two-forty-four), students in this class can neither submit the academic work of another as their own, nor provide work they have done for another student to be submitted as that other student's work.

Content and Grading:  Lecture slides are posted online. Activities days are more informal, including work with specimens, discussions, written exercises and exam reviews. Grades are based on 400 possible points: for undergraduate students, three exams are 100 pts. each and Activities Days exercises are 10 pts. each, exam reviews excluded. Pop quizzes for extra credit are 20-25 pts. total. Grades are posted online by the last 4 digits of the ID#. Makeup exams and Activities Days exercises are given only in extreme circumstances with documentable proof, such as a doctor’s note or police report. Makeup exams are short essays.

Graduate students' grades are based on three exams at 75 points each, Activities Days at 5 points each, a paper on a paleobiological subject worth 75 points, and a presentation of the paper worth 50 points. The paper should be 10-15 double-spaced pages of text including references and excluding figures and tables, and is due during the last class.

Final grades are determined as follows: A (93-100%) = 368-400 pts., A- (90-92%) = 360-367 pts., B+ (87-89%) = 348-359 pts., B (83-86%) = 328-347 pts., B- (80-82%) = 320-327 pts., C+ (77-79%) = 308-319 pts., C (73-76%) = 288-307 pts., C- (70-72%) = 280-287 pts., D+ (67-69%) = 272-279 pts., D (63-66%) = 248-271 pts., D- (60-62%) = 240-247 pts. F (0-59%) = 0-239 pts.