GEOL 537, Geobiology
Syllabus –– Spring 2014
Lecture: Monday & Wednesday 1:00 - 1:50 pm, CSL 424
Laboratory: Monday 2:00-4:40 pm, CSL 424
Instructor: Tom Deméré
Office: GMCS 228-C
Contact: Tel.: 619-549-3455; email: tademere@gmail.com
Office Hours: TBA
Teaching Assistant: Kaitlin Wessel
Office: Graduate Student Offices
Contact: Telephone: 949-244-7825; e-mail: knwessel@gmail.com
Office Hours: TBA
Prerequisites: Geological Sciences 205
Geological Sciences 336
Biology 100-100L & Biology 101-101L or
Biology 203-203L
Text/Readings: There is no textbook for this class. Instead, reading assignments will be posted as pdf files
on Blackboard (https://blackboard.sdsu.edu/) or internet sites where references can be downloaded (links will
be sent via email). Primary literature readings will be sprinkled throughout the course to aid in learning and
serve as starting points for class discussions and laboratory exercises.
Course Description: Broadly defined, paleontology is an interdisciplinary area of scientific research that
explores the history of life through deep time. This vast history, together with the principles and procedures
of modern paleontological research, is too large a subject to cover in one semester. As a result, this course
will focus on certain basic paleontological principles and procedures (e.g., fossil preservation and
taphonomy, phylogenetic systematics and biological classifications, macroevolution and extinction,
functional anatomy and adaptation, paleoecological and paleoenvironmental reconstruction, and historical
biodiversity patterns). Class and field sessions will provide opportunities for students to collect and handle
invertebrate and vertebrate fossil remains, practice field and laboratory research techniques, investigate
current topics in paleontology, and present research results in written and oral formats.
Course Goals: The main goals of this course are for students to develop a working understanding of
fundamental principles and current topics in paleontology and what kinds of questions can be answered using
the fossil record. When you finish the course, you should be able to:
•reconstruct aspects of the taphonomic history of a given fossil or fossil assemblage;
•determine phylogenetic relationships among a set of organisms and use the resulting pattern of relationships
to formulate hypotheses of character evolution, adaptation, speciation, and dispersal;
•use morphological information to develop hypotheses about function in extinct organisms;
•analyze a fossil assemblage and reconstruct aspects of its paleoecological structure and paleoenvironmental
context;
•evaluate the pattern of broad changes in biodiversity through geologic time in terms of both biological and
geological processes;
•use field and laboratory methods common in paleontology to collect and document fossils and data in the
field and to analyze collected samples and data to answer a research question.
Secondary Goals: In addition to the primary goals listed above, this course will build on more basic themes
that will enhance your ability to:
•recognize patterns in nature and develop and test hypotheses as to the processes responsible for those
patterns;
•access, read, and evaluate scientific literature;
•process and manipulate paleontological data and write coherent reports;
•present field and laboratory results to an audience of peers.
Class Assignments and Quizzes: During class, you will often have a problem to solve and be expected to
participate in discussions of material you have read. Five of the lecture sessions will include quizzes.
Details will be given as assignments are made. Assignments and quizzes will comprise 20% of your final
grade. It is therefore critical that you attend every class or provide written documentation of any excusable
absences.
Laboratory Exercises: The laboratory session is scheduled for each Monday, from 2:00 to 4:40 pm. When
we are not on a field trip, there will be an exercise to be completed during the scheduled laboratory period.
Some of these will be group projects, others will be individual assignments. A total of six laboratory
exercises are anticipated and will comprise 24% of your final grade. All will require a short report, written
entirely by you (format and grading criteria to be provided elsewhere), that will be turned in by the following
Monday. Several of these laboratory sessions will be at the San Diego Natural History Museum. On these
occasions, the lecture session will be combined with the laboratory session to provide a continuous work
period.
Local Fieldtrips & Brief Reports: Three laboratory sessions will be combined with three lecture sessions
to allow for local fieldtrips. These sessions may run as late as 5:30 pm. Each of these field-based projects
will require a short report, written entirely by you (format and grading criteria to be provided elsewhere).
You will also be asked to turn in copies of your field notes for review. These three field projects will
comprise 24% of your final grade. More detailed information will be given when the assignments are made.
“Make-up” field trips will not be possible.
Weekend Fieldtrip & Expanded Report: There will be one weekend fieldtrip early in the semester
(February 22-23) designed to give you more experience in “reading” rocks in the field, in describing the
taphonomic context of fossil concentrations, and in collecting and preparing fossils. You will also be asked
to turn in copies of your field notes for review. Data gathered during this field trip will form the basis of an
expanded report written entirely by you (format and grading criteria to be provided elsewhere), which will be
due at 1:00 pm on March 19, 2014. This project will comprise 16% of your final grade.
Research Paper: One library-based research paper will be assigned during the semester. The first draft of
your report is due at 1:00 pm on April 16, 2014. The report is to be written entirely by you (format and
grading criteria to be provided elsewhere). The draft will be peer-reviewed by a fellow student and the TA
and returned to you by April 28, 2014 for revision. The final revised report will be due during final’s week
on the day of the scheduled class final. The assignment will also include a short (~10 minutes) PowerPoint
presentation and a one-page summary/abstract of your research for the class. Presentations are scheduled
during class time on May 5 and May 7, 2014. The research report plus presentation will comprise 16% of
your grade.
Grading: The percentage of total points earned calculated using the percentage valves described above will
be assigned a letter grade according to the usual numerical limits (i.e., 90-100%=A. 80-89%=B, 70-79%=C,
60-69%=D, <60%=F).
Absences: If you miss lecture or laboratory, you are still responsible for the material and for meeting course
deadlines. Course materials generally will be posted on Blackboard. However, additional critical
information, which will be included in the final examination, will be provided only during class time. If you
must miss class, it is your responsibility to contact me, the TA, or other students to get the information you
missed.
Academic Dishonesty: SDSU maintains a strict stance against academic dishonesty/fraud. This course
adheres to this philosophy.
Notes & Disclaimer – Your rights and responsibilities as a SDSU student are outlined in your chosen General Catalog (i.e., your
“contract” with SDSU). Section 41301 of Title V of the California Code of Regulations defines academic misconduct as “cheating or
plagiarism in connection with an academic program at a campus”. Examples of cheating include using notes or copying others’ work
during an exam and falsifying data or records for an exercise. Plagiarism may be summarized as not stating information in your own
words, based on your own understanding. Disabled students should contact me by the third week of classes and provide any
necessary documentation via Disabled Student Services (Student Services, Room 1661, 619.594.6473, 619.594.2929 [TTD]). The
above schedule and procedures in this course are subject to change. Any such changes will be communicated directly to students.
Week of
1/22
SDSU
1/27
SDSU
SDSU
2/3
Field
SDSU
2/10
SDNHM
SDSU
2/17
SDNHM
SDSU
Content -- Topics
Monday Lecture: No class - Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
Monday Laboratory: No class - Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
Wednesday Lecture: Course Orientation & Introduction
Monday Lecture: Fossil Preservation - Taphonomy
Monday Laboratory: Fossil Preservation - Taphonomy
Wednesday Lecture: Taphonomy
Monday Lecture: Local Field Trip (Solana Beach)
Monday Laboratory: Local Field Trip
Wednesday Lecture: Field Trip review & discussion
Monday Lecture: Systematics - Cladistics - Biological Classification
Monday Laboratory: Systematics - Cladistics - Biological Classification
Wednesday Lecture: Macroevolution – Tempo & Mode
Monday Lecture: Functional Morphology - I
Monday Laboratory: Functional Morphology
Wednesday Lecture: Painted Gorge FT preview
2/22-23
Weekend fieldtrip - Painted Gorge (PG)
2/24
SDSU
SDSU
3/3
SDSU
SDSU
3/10
Field
SDSU
3/17
SDSU
SDSU
3/24
SDSU
SDSU
Monday Lecture: Field Trip review & preparation of PG fossils
Monday Laboratory: Field Trip review & preparation of PG fossils
Wednesday Lecture: Functional Morphology - II
Monday Lecture: Paleoecology - Paleoenvironment
Monday Laboratory: Preparation and curation of PG fossils
Wednesday Lecture: Paleoecology - Paleoenvironment
Monday Lecture: Local Field Trip (Sunset Cliffs)
Monday Laboratory: Local Field Trip
Wednesday Lecture: Field Trip review
Monday Lecture: Field Trip review & preparation of SC fossils
Monday Laboratory: Field Trip review & preparation of SC fossils
Wednesday Lecture: Functional Morphology - II
Monday Lecture: Intro. Evolutionary Faunas
Monday Laboratory: Invertebrate Fossils
Wednesday Lecture: Cambrian Evolutionary Fauna
3/31
Spring Break
4/7
SDSU
SDSU
4/14
SDNHM
SDSU
4/21
Field
SDSU
4/28
SDSU
SDSU
5/5
SDSU
SDSU
5/12
SDSU
Monday Lecture: Paleozoic Evolutionary Fauna
Monday Laboratory: Invertebrate Fossils
Wednesday Lecture: Paleozoic Evolutionary Fauna
Monday Lecture: Modern Evolutionary Fauna
Monday Laboratory: Vertebrate Fossils
Wednesday Lecture: Modern Evolutionary Fauna
Monday Lecture: Local Fieldtrip (National City)
Monday Laboratory: Local Fieldtrip
Wednesday Lecture: Fieldtrip review & discussion
Monday Lecture: San Diego County paleontology
Monday Laboratory: Mollusca
Wednesday Lecture: Discussion of Research Reports
Monday Lecture: Class Presentations
Monday Laboratory: Class Presentations
Wednesday Lecture: Class Presentations
Finals Week
Readings
Reading 1
Readings 2, 3
Reading 4
Quiz 1
Reading 5
Reading 6
Reading 7
Readings 8, 9
Quiz 2
Quiz 3
Reading 10
Reading 11
Quiz 4
Reading 12
Reading 13
Quiz 5