BIOLOGY 830P
The Six Global Mass Extinctions
Spring 2016
Professor Bryan Drew (344 Bruner Hall of Science). Molecular systematics; biogeography;
speciation; phylogenetics of Lamiaceae; • 308-865-8883 • [email protected]
Contact: By email or phone M-F: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm central standard time (CST)
Course Materials:
• Readings: Select Primary Literature
• Announcements, quizzes, test, discussion boards, requisite software links, and research
project: All information for this class will be available on blackboard
(http://bb.unk.edu).
• E-mail: All students must use their UNK email account so that I can reach them.
Schedule: This class is a graduate level class, therefore I assume that all of you have had a
Biology course that covered introductory material at some point in your career. This schedule is
subject to change.
Week 1
Date
Jan. 11-15
Topic
Introduction to Mass Extinctions
Assignment/Reading*
TBA
Week 2
Jan. 18-22
Causes of Mass extinctions
TBA
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Jan. 25-29
Feb. 1-5
Feb. 8-12
Feb. 15-19
Feb. 22-26
Feb. 29thMarch 1
March 7-11
The Ordovician-Silurian extinction
The Late Devonian extinction
The Permian-Triassic extinction
The Permian-Triassic extinction (cont)
The End Triassic extinction
The Capitanian event, a 7th extinction?
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
Bond et al. 2015
The Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction (K-T,
or K-Pg)
The Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction (cont)
Spring Break-No Class
TBA
The Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction (cont)
TBA
Week 9
Week 10 March 14-18
Week 11 March 21-25
Week 12 March 28April 1
TBA
TBA
Week 13 April 4-8
Week 14 April 11-15
Week 15 April 18-22
Week 16 April 25-29
Week 17 May 2-6
The Holocene (Anthropocene)
extinction
The Holocene (Anthropocene)
extinction (cont)
The Holocene (Anthropocene)
extinction (cont)
Wrap up and conclusions
Final Exam
TBA
TBA
TBA
Research Project Due
*Readings will be assigned
Course Description: Mass extinction events are directly and indirectly responsible for what the
Earth looks like today in terms of both organismal composition and distribution; it is estimated
that well over 99% of organisms that once existed on Earth have gone extinct. These events have
occurred several times during the past 500 million years, with varying causes, intensities, and
lasting impact. We will examine each mass extinction in detail, including the current putative
“6th Extinction”, evaluating and discussing the cause, effect, and lasting impact of each. Special
focus will be paid to the Permian, K-Pg, and Holocene extinctions due to their magnitude and
recency.
Course Objectives:
-- Understand mechanisms behind mass extinctions
-- Learn what Earth looked like before and after each extinction
-- Learn how to conduct phylogenetic analyses
-- Learn how to interpret the results of the above analyses and write a journal-style research
paper
QUIZZES: Timed quizzes will be given weekly. The purpose of these quizzes is that people
keep up on readings.
GRADES:
Final Exam
Discussion Board
Quizzes
Research Project
20%
30%
10%
40%
Research Paper: As part of this course you will be required to conduct an original phylogenetic
analysis, and write it up in a scientific format.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES OR THOSE WHO ARE PREGNANT
Students with disabilities or those who are pregnant are encouraged to contact me for a
confidential discussion of their individual needs for academic accommodation. It is the policy of
the University of Nebraska at Kearney to provide flexible and individualized reasonable
accommodation to students with documented disabilities or those who are pregnant. To receive
accommodation services for a disability, students must be registered with UNK Disabilities
Services Coordinator, David Brandt, in the Academic Success Office, 163 Memorial Student
Affairs Building, 308-865-8214 or by email [email protected]. For those needing
accommodation due to pregnancy, you need to visit with Student Health. The following link
provides information for students and faculty regarding pregnancy
rights. http://www.nwlc.org/resource/pregnant-and-parenting-students-rights-faqs-college-andgraduate-students
Attached is the link to the above statement for your convenience.
http://unkcms.unk.edu/offices/disability_services/
Plagiarism and cheating: Anyone found plagiarizing or cheating will receive a 0 for that
assignment; subsequent violations will result in referral to the Vice Chancellor for Academic
Affairs for dismissal from the university.