Geology 541 - Paleobiology
Fall 2000 - Course Outline

Prof. Dana Geary
office hours:
473 Weeks Hall 263-7754
email: dana@geology.wisc.edu

lecture topics Prothero coursepack/ *reserve

Sept 5 introduction ch. 5 Gould 1986

the study of form

7 functional and constructional morphology ch. 7

12 criticism of the study of form Gould & Lewontin 1979, Mayr 1983

14 theoretical morphology *Dawkins 1996

19 case studies

interpreting the fossil record

21 resolution in the fossil record ch. 1 and 10 *Kidwell & Flessa 1996

26 interpretation of character variation ch. 2 (p. 27-33)

28 species concepts; speciation ch. 3

Oct 3 reconstructing phylogeny ch. 4 (especially p. 43-54)

5 exam 1

the pace of evolution
10 punctuated equilibrium and gradualism Williamson and his critics

12 case studies of tempo and mode Geary 1995; Hunter 1999

17 rates of evolution

19 macroevolution; transitional fossils

mechanisms of evolutionary change

24 introduction; growth and allometry ch. 2 (p. 17-26)

26 heterochrony McNamara 1986

31 environment and evolution Benton 1990

Nov. 2 case studies and discussion Stanley 1992

7 exam 2

extinction

9 questions about extinction ch. 6 Raup & Sepkoski 1982

14 causes of extinction Jablonski 1996

16 Phanerozoic background extinction rates

21 recovery from extinction and case studies

23 THANKSGIVING

diversity, diversification, and paleoecology

28 the history of diversity p. 138-142 Erwin et al. 1987

30 the origin and radiation of metazoans p. 52-54 *Raff 1996

Dec. 5 disparity and diversity p. 99-102 Valentine 1999

7 evolutionary faunas; escalation ch. 8

12 evolutionary paleoecology Bottjer et al. 1996

14 summary

exam 3

Fall 2000 - Course Information

Readings

Text: Bringing Fossils to Life, An Introduction to Paleobiology, by Donald Prothero, 1998 Plus: A coursepack with important reading material will be available at Bob's Copy Shop on Randall Street. A few readings are too long to go into the coursepack legally, so will be available on reserve in the Geology Library.

Grading

There will be three exams, each covering two sections of the course. Exams will be in short essay format (one to several paragraphs per question). You will also be expected to complete a term paper and do a short oral presentation, both explained below. The exams, term paper, and presentation will contribute to your grade in the following proportions:

exam 1 25%

exam 2 25%

exam 3 25%

term paper 20%

presentation 5%

Term papers

You can choose any topic in paleobiology, subject to my approval. Papers should be 10-12 pages, double spaced, plus figures and references. We will use a peer review system in which each student provides a critical review of papers by two of his or her peers, and each student's paper is reviewed by two peers. We will use the following schedule:

topic chosen Sept. 19

papers due for peer review Oct. 24

reviewed papers due back to authors Nov. 9

final version due Nov. 21

Oral presentations

Undergrads may select a partner for this; grad students should go solo. If you go with a partner, only one of you need actually present the material to the class. Each pair or person will select a case study (a paper from the primary literature) in one of four areas. Presentations will be limited to 5 minutes! You should cover the major points of the paper and provide a brief critique based on our previous discussion of these topics. Suggested papers for each of the four areas are provided on separate sheets. If you would like to present a different paper, that's fine, but please check it with me first. The four areas and the dates on which we will do oral presentations for them are:

Morphology - September 19
Tempo and Mode - October 12
Mechanisms of Evolutionary Change - November 2
Extinction - November 21

Coursepack and *Reserve Readings

Gould, S.J. 1986. Evolution and the triumph of homology, or why history matters. American Scientist 74:60-69.
Gould, S.J. and R.C. Lewontin. 1979. The spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian paradigm: A critique of the adaptationist programme. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, 205B: 581-598.
Mayr, E. 1983. How to carry out the adaptationist program? American Naturalist 121:324-334.
*Dawkins, R. 1996. The museum of all shells. Pp. 109-223 in Climbing Mount Improbable. W.W. Norton.
*Kidwell, S.M. and K. Flessa. 1996. The quality of the fossil record: Populations, species, and communities. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 24:433-464.
Williamson and his critics:
- Williamson, P.G. 1981. Palaeontological documentation of speciation in Cenozoic molluscs from Turkana Basin. Nature 293:437-443.
- Jones, J.S. 1981. An uncensored page of fossil history. Nature 293:427-428.
- Williamson, P.G. 1981. Morphological stasis and developmental constraint: Real problems for neo-Darwinism. Nature 294:214-215.
- 1982. Punctuationism and Darwinism reconciled? The Lake Turkana mollusc sequence. Criticism from Mayr, Boucot, Charlesworth and Lande, Ginzburg and Rost, Lindsay; reply from Williamson. Nature 296:608-612.
- 1983. Speciation in molluscs from Turkana Basin. Criticism from Cohen and Schwartz, Kat and Davis; reply from Williamson. Nature 304:659-663.
Geary, D.H. 1995. The importance of gradual change in species-level transitions. Pp. 67-86, in D.H. Erwin and R.L. Anstey (eds.), New Approaches to Speciation in the Fossil Record
Hunter, J.P. 1999. Evolution at all scales in the vertebrate fossil record. Pp. 203-220, in Scotchmoor, J. And D.A. Springer (eds.), Evolution, Investigating the Evidence. Paleontological Society Special Publication Volume 9.
McNamara, K. 1986. A guide to the nomenclature of heterochrony. Journal of Paleontology 60: 4-13.
Benton, M. 1990. The Red Queen hypothesis. Pp. 119-124, in D.E.G. Briggs and P.R. Crowther (eds.), Palaeobiology, A Synthesis.
Stanley, S.M. 1992. An ecological theory for the origin of Homo. Paleobiology 18:237-257.
Raup, D.M. and J.J. Sepkoski. 1982. Mass extinctions in the marine fossil record. Science 215:1501-1503.
Jablonski, D. 1996. Mass extinctions: Persistant problems and new directions. Pp. 1-11, in G. Ryder, D. Fastovsky, and S. Gartner (eds.). The Cretaceous-Tertiary Event and Other Catastrophes in Earth History. Geological Society of America Special Paper 307.
Erwin, D.H., J. Valentine, and J.J. Sepkoski. 1987. A comparative study of diversification events: The early Paleozoic versus the Mesozoic. Evolution 41:1177-1186.
*Raff, R.A. 1996. Deep time and metazoan origins. Pp. 63-102, in The Shape of Life; Genes, Development and the Evolution of Animal Form. University of Chicago Press.
Valentine, J.W. 1999. The evolution of biodiversity: richness and disparity. Pp. 329-339, in: Scotchmoor, J. And D.A. Springer (eds.), Evolution, Investigating the Evidence. Paleontological Society Special Publication Volume 9.
Bottjer, D.J., J.K. Schubert, and M.L. Droser. 1996. Comparative evolutionary palaeoecology: assessing the changing ecology of the past. Pp. 1-13, in M.B. Hart (ed.), Biotic Recovery from Mass Extinction Events. Geological Society Special Publication No. 102.

Badger Paleontology Classes

		lecture topics	Prothero	coursepack/ *reserve
Sept	5	introduction	ch. 5	Gould 1986
the study of form
	7	functional and constructional morphology	ch. 7
	12	criticism of the study of form		Gould & Lewontin 1979, Mayr 1983
	14	theoretical morphology		*Dawkins 1996
	19	case studies
interpreting the fossil record
	21	resolution in the fossil record	ch. 1 and 10	*Kidwell & Flessa 1996
	26	interpretation of character variation	ch. 2 (p. 27-33)
	28	species concepts; speciation	ch. 3
Oct	3	reconstructing phylogeny	ch. 4 (especially p. 43-54)
	5	exam 1
the pace of evolution
	10	punctuated equilibrium and gradualism		Williamson and his critics
	12	case studies of tempo and mode		Geary 1995; Hunter 1999
	17	rates of evolution
	19	macroevolution; transitional fossils
mechanisms of evolutionary change
	24	introduction; growth and allometry	ch. 2 (p. 17-26)
	26	heterochrony		McNamara 1986
	31	environment and evolution		Benton 1990
Nov.	2	case studies and discussion		Stanley 1992
	7	exam 2
extinction
	9	questions about extinction	ch. 6	Raup & Sepkoski 1982
	14	causes of extinction		Jablonski 1996
	16	Phanerozoic background extinction rates
	21	recovery from extinction and case studies
	23	THANKSGIVING
diversity, diversification, and paleoecology
	28	the history of diversity	p. 138-142	Erwin et al. 1987
	30	the origin and radiation of metazoans	p. 52-54	*Raff 1996
Dec.	5	disparity and diversity	p. 99-102	Valentine 1999
	7	evolutionary faunas; escalation	ch. 8
	12	evolutionary paleoecology		Bottjer et al. 1996
	14	summary
exam 3

topic chosen	Sept. 19
papers due for peer review	Oct. 24
reviewed papers due back to authors	Nov. 9
final version due	Nov. 21

Geology 541 - Paleobiology Fall 2000 - Course Outline

the study of form

interpreting the fossil record

the pace of evolution

mechanisms of evolutionary change

extinction