COURSE UNIT TITLE

: PALEOECOLOGY

DEGREE PROGRAMMES

Description of Individual Course Units

Course Unit Code Course Unit Title Type Of Course D U L ECTS
GEE 5006 PALEOECOLOGY ELECTIVE 3 0 0 9

Offered By

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences

Level of Course Unit

Second Cycle Programmes (Master's Degree)

Course Coordinator

PROFESSOR DOCTOR FUNDA AKGÜN

Offered to

Applied Geology
Applied Geology

Course Objective

Environmental reconstruction using fossils; lecture are focussed on organism-sediment relations, diversity of organism, distribution of adaptive morphology, and community structure. The lecture also includes the relationship between ancient organisms and their physical and biological environment. The topic has a broad range from functional morphology of individual species to paleocommunity analysis, to sequence stratigraphy, and to isotope geochemistry and paleoclimatology.

Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit

1   To be able to describe the major environmental, geographic and historical factors those control the distribution of organisms on Earth.
2   To be able to identify major taphonomic and stratigraphic biases that may affect our understanding of ancient ecosystems.
3   To be able to use a range of techniques to reconstruct the paleoecology and lifestyles of organisms and ecosystems.
4   To be able to discuss the paleoecology of several specific marine and terrestrial groups, and several famous fossil assemblages.
5   To be able to recognize trace fossils and use them to draw conclusions about paleoenvironments and stratigraphic processes.
6   To be able to apply knowledge of fossil distributions, stratigraphic content, and isotopic data to reconstruct ancient environments .
7   To be able to outline major long-term trends in diversity and ecosystem organization throughout the Phanerozoic.
8   To be able to plan and conduct a faunal analysis of a fossil assemblage, including field sampling, lab processing, and qualitative and quantitative analyses.

Mode of Delivery

Face -to- Face

Prerequisites and Co-requisites

None

Recomended Optional Programme Components

None

Course Contents

Week Subject Description
1 Ancient ecosystems
2 Organism-sediment interrelations, diversity of organism
3 Taphonomic and stratigraphic biases
4 Functional morphology and community structure
5 Paleoecology and lifestyles of several specific marine and terrestrial groups
6 Paleoecology and lifestyles of several famous fossil assemblages
7 Trace fossils and their paleoenvironmental importance
8 Mid Term
9 Isotopic data for reconstruction ancient environments
10 Sinecology
11 Presentation
12 Diversity and ecosystem organization throughout the Phanerozoic
13 Faunal analysis of a fossil assemblage (marine and terresterial)
14 Final Exam

Recomended or Required Reading

Ross, R.M. and Allmon, W. D. (Eds.) (1990), Causes of Evolution: A Paleontological Perspective, by), University Of Chicago Press 494 pages ISBN: 0226728242
Behrensmeyer, A. K., Damuth J.D., DiMichele,W.A., Potts, R., Sues H-D & Wing, S.L. [eds.] (1992), Terrestrial Ecosystems through Time: the Evolutionary Paleoecology of Terrestrial Plants and Animals. Univ. Chicago Press, 568 pp. Collective author, the Evolution of Terrestrial Ecosystems Consortium.
Brenchley, P. and Harper, D (1998), Palaeoecology: Ecosystems, Environments, and Evolution, Chapman & Hall, ISBN: 0-412-43450-4.
Patzkowsky (2000),Palaeoecology: Ecosystems, Environments, and Evolution. Palaios,15: 255.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Oral and visual presentations, homework and discussion.

Assessment Methods

SORTING NUMBER SHORT CODE LONG CODE FORMULA
1 MTE MIDTERM EXAM
2 RPT REPORT
3 PRS PRESENTATION
4 FIN FINAL EXAM
5 FCG FINAL COURSE GRADE MTE* 0.10 +RPT * 0.20 +PRS * 0.20 + FIN * 0.50
6 RST RESIT
7 FCGR FINAL COURSE GRADE (RESIT) MTE* 0.10 +RPT * 0.20 + PRS * 0.20 + RST * 0.50


Further Notes About Assessment Methods

Your attendance and participation in class discussions are noted. Each student with the term paper will present two paleoecological case studies in the class. A midterm exam will test your knowledge of basic paleoecological concepts and approaches.

Assessment Criteria

Learning outcomes 1,2, 3 ve 4 will be testified by homework report, presentation, midterm exam and makeup exam .
The other learning outcomes 5, 6 and 7 will be testified by midterm, final exams and makeup exam.

Language of Instruction

Turkish

Course Policies and Rules

To be announced.

Contact Details for the Lecturer(s)


Prof. Dr. Funda AKGUN
Dokuz Eylül University, Engineering Faculty, Department of Geology Engineering.
eposta: funda.akgun@deu.edu.tr
tel:4127308

Office Hours

To be announced.

Work Placement(s)

None

Workload Calculation

Activities Number Time (hours) Total Work Load (hours)
Lectures 12 2 24
Preparation for midterm exam 1 50 50
Preparation for final exam 1 62 62
Preparing assignments 1 30 30
Preparing presentations 1 45 45
Midterm 1 2 2
Final 1 2 2
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours) 215

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

PO/LOPO.1PO.2PO.3PO.4PO.5PO.6PO.7PO.8PO.9PO.10PO.11PO.12PO.13PO.14
LO.15555
LO.25555
LO.35555
LO.455555
LO.55555
LO.65555
LO.75555
LO.855555

CONTACT INFORMATION
Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Cumhuriyet Bulvarı No: 144 35210 Alsancak / İZMİR
Phone: +90(232) 412 12 12 - Fax: +90 (232) 464 81 35

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