EASC 103: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
| Credits: | 3 |
Pre-requisites: | None |
Lecture (hrs/week): | 2 |
| Terms: | Fall, Spring |
Co-requisites: | None |
Lab (hrs/week): | 2 |
| Instructors: | Dunlop, MacEachern | Writing/Breadth - Science | |||
| Course Notes: | |||||
Description:
EASC 103 is an introductory course that deals with Dinosauria, and in particular, how our understanding of this extinct group of animals has been radically altered in the light of new discoveries during the last few decades.
Course Topics- Introduction to the fossil record, the Mesozoic Era, plate tectonics and climates during the Mesozoic, heirarchy and organic evolution.
- What is a dinosaur? What criteria are employed to recognize an extinct organism as a dinosaur?
- Summaries of the main dinosaur groups are explored. Assessments of the paleontological evidence for new theories and heresies of dinosaur appearance, biomechanics, behaviour, etc. are given.
- Context of the Rise of Dinosaurs. What groups did they replace? How did they come to dominate the Earth?
- Discussion of dinosaur adaptive radiation with particular reference to the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. Discussion of associated animal groups cohabiting the Earth with dinosaurs during these time periods.
- Discussion of the Dinosaur to Bird evolutionary theory and "feathered" dinosaurs.
- The fall of the Dinosaurs. Summary of the various theories and relevant paleontological data regarding dinosaur extinction.
Textbook:
Dinosaurs the Textbook, Spencer G. Lucas, 5th Edition, 2004.