Unit information: Taphonomy and Palaeoecology in 2012/13

Unit name	Taphonomy and Palaeoecology
Unit code	EASCM0004
Credit points	10
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1B (weeks 7 - 12)
Unit director	Professor. Mike Benton
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	none
Co-requisites	none
School/department	School of Earth Sciences
Faculty	Faculty of Science

Description including Unit Aims

Konservat Lagerstatten – where the decay-prone ‘soft’ tissues of organisms are preserved – provide exceptional glimpses into the biology and ecology of ancient organisms.

This unit will focus on:

• Preservational mechanisms

• Controlling factors

• Simulating fossilisation in the lab

• Unique insights into palaeobiology and palaeoecology

Learn about recent discoveries, key imaging- and chemical analytical techniques, and preservational enigmas. Bolster transferable skills in teamwork and oral and written communication via team-based practical exercises. Each practical will focus on a particular preservational problem; teams will defend their results and interpretations during the lecture following each practical.

Intended Learning Outcomes

On successful completion you should be able to:

• Identify various temporal, lithological and tissue-related biases involved in fossil preservation

• Identify the various biological and environmental factors that control exceptional preservation of fossils

• Identify appropriate techniques for analysing fossil soft tissues preserved via different mechanisms

• Design a successful laboratory experiment to investigate a particular taphonomic problem

• Devise appropriate methods for investigating the preservation of soft-bodied fossils

• Defend ideas, interpretations and hypotheses orally

Teaching Information

Lectures and practicals.

Assessment Information

There is no theory exam for this unit. Assessment is as follows: 50% - practical exercises. One exercise (worth 12.5% of overall marks for the course) for each of weeks 1-4 of the course. Half of the marks will be for work done during the lab, whereas the other half will be for participation and teamwork.

50% - oral presentation and 2-page written proposal for an experimental taphonomy project of their own devising. The bulk of the marks (40% of total course marks) will be allocated to the oral presentation. Marks will be awarded for both scientific content and presentation style. Presentations will take place during the last week of the course; written proposal to be handed in by the end of the last week.

Reading and References

References for each topic will be provided at the start of each week. Recommended texts include:

• Introduction to Palaeobiology and the Fossil Record. Benton, M. and Harper, D. 2009. Wiley-Blackwell, 608 pp.

• Taphonomy: Releasing the data locked in the fossil record. Eds Allison, P. A. and Briggs, D. E. G. 1991. Plenum Press, N. Y. 560 pp.

• Exceptional fossil preservation. Bottjer, D.J., Etter, W., Hagadorn, J.W., Tang, C.M. (eds.) 2002. Columbia University Press, 403 pp.