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FSem 133 THE SIXTH EXTINCTION |
| Textbook abbreviations: |
E=Eldredge's The Miner's Canary: Unraveling the Mysteries of Extinction.; W=Wilson's CD-ROMconserving Earth's Biodiversity.; M=McNeely's conserving the World's Biological Diversity |
| I. INTRODUCTION | Reading |
| Aug 27 | Course introduction, advising & Colgate's Honor Code What is biodiversity and why does it matter? |
E:xv-xviii, 1-7; M:9-12; W:Intro; Time & Nat'l History articles + video on endangered species + essay |
| 30 | Ad hoc advising in class @ 1:30 pm (Lathrop 403) | help available 2 pm - (Lath 306) |
| 31 | The nature of Science, the science of Nature | E:xii-xiii; M:12-15 |
| Sept 2 | Experiment 1: Fossilization; intro to research methods | |
| 7 | Experiment 2 (FT): Geer Road quarry & Devonian (v. modern) biodiversity (lunch provided) Class begins at 12:30 Do "Described species & total species on Earth" activities (CD-ROM) |
E:21-48; M:17-19, 113; W:Global Biodiversity & Diversity of Life |
| 9 | Experiment 3: Geologic Time | |
| 14 | Experiment 4 (FT): Burial taphonomy (lunch provided) Class begins at 11:30 |
W:Diversity of Life (Tree of Life) |
| 16 | How do species evolve and become extinct? | E:7-20
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II. ASSESSING THE PAST
| Sept 21 | Biodiversity patterns in the history of life | E:49-77, 131-69; M:39; W:Biodiversity over Time |
| 23 | Ordovician mass extinction | E:79-85 |
| 28 | Devonian mass extinction | E: 85-88 |
| 30 | Permian mass extinction | E:88-98 |
| Oct 5 | FALL BREAK |
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| 7 | Cretaceous mass extinction | E:99-124 |
| 12 | Pleistocene mass extinction | E:124-29, 171-207
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III. EVALUATING THE PRESENT BIODIVERSITY CRISIS
| Oct 14 | Bring back the elephant? | debate w/ invited lecturer |
| *** 15 | Science Colloquium on conservation issues | Fri., 3-4 pm *** |
| 19 | How bad is it & what are its causes? | E:131-69; 209-29; M:19-22, 37-52; W:Global Biodiversity & Threats to Biodiversity |
| 21 | What's wildlife worth? Creation of campus survey to assess the values of biodiversity | M:25-35 |
| *** 22 | Science Colloquium on past, present & future biodiversity | Fri., 3-4 pm *** |
| 26 | What's wildlife worth? Discussion of campus survey & wildlife images | wildlife images due |
| 28 | Conservation efforts I: Global biodiversity assessment (dead zones v. hot spots, alien v. endangered species, & green lists") |
M55-69, 71-106; W:Conservation Practices |
| 29 | ENST panel discussion on biodiversity & ethics | Fri., 12-1 pm *** |
| *** 30 | Field Trip to Ithaca's Museum of the Earth & gorge-ous hike | Sat., 9 am - 6:30 pm ***
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| Nov 2 | Exhumation of Experiment 2 (FT) (lunch provided) |
Class begins at 12:00
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| 4 | Conservation efforts II: Ecotourism, zoological parks, & DNA research | W:Conservation Practices
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| 9 | TAKE HOME MIDTERM | no class
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| 11 | TAKE HOME MIDTERM | no class; exam due by 5 pm
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| 16 | Conservation efforts III: Human population dynamics & global warming | W:Social Issues
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| 18 | Detailed outline of final research presentation/paper due; preparation for oral presentations I |
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| 23 | no class | make-up for sci colloq
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| 25 | THANKSGIVING | no class
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IV. PRESENTATION OF RESEARCH ON THE SIXTH EXTINCTION
| Nov 30 | Discussion of outline of final research presentation/paper; preparation for oral presentations II |
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| Dec 2 | Oral presentations of final research papers I | |
| 7 | Oral presentations of final research papers II | |
| 9 | Oral presentations of final research papers III | |
| 13 | Final research papers due | due by noon |
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Back to FSem 133 Syllabus |
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http://classes.colgate.edu/csoja/fsem133/ |
