This web syllabus and course blog is designed as a supplement for the Invertebrate Paleontology course at The College of Wooster. For course specifics, please see the course notes page. Each week I will add links, images and other items to illustrate the material and provide additional information (and alternative views). This is a living document, so it will change weekly, sometimes daily, during the semester. I may be only a week ahead in the addition of links and other items. The schedule of assignments, of course, will remain constant. Don’t miss the Systematics listing — it will be important in your lives very soon! You can think of this page as a web newsletter for the course. If you have ideas for this page, please send me a message. Note that you can also add comments to the entries. You may also want to refer to our History of Life course webpage. We are particularly proud of our Wooster Geologists blog.
Geology 250 is a writing intensive (“W”) course which fulfills in part the writing requirement at the College. As such it has an emphasis on writing as a primary means by which scientific ideas are explored and expressed. It is important to note at the beginning that while the writing assignments in this course are significant, they include as much instruction as evaluation.
Because you are a large class, I will split you early into two lab sections: Thursday 1-2:20 pm and Thursday 2:30-3:50 pm. Note that you will be spending at least another couple of hours each week on your own schedule.
Welcome to Invertebrate Paleontology!
Schedule of Lectures
Lectures in Scovel Hall Room 205, Tuesday & Thursday, 8:00 – 9:20 a.m.
Lab Sessions in Scovel Hall Rooms 216 & 219, Thursday, 1:00 – 3:50 p.m. (Two sections)
August 25 —
History and Systematics
Reading: Wyse Jackson 1-54
Lab: Fossil preservation; introduction to our Systematics pages.
Special events:
Assignments: (Preparation questions)
August 30 & September 1 —
Paleoecology; The Kingdom of the Single-Celled Eucaryotes (Protista)
Reading: Wyse Jackson 62-64
Lab: Chrysophytes and sarcodines (mostly foraminiferans and radiolarians)
Special events:
Assignments: (Preparation questions)
September 6 & 8 —
Phylum Porifera: The Simplest of the Animals (Sponges)
Reading: Wyse Jackson 65-67
Lab: Sponges and a start on the cnidarians.
Special events: We will have our required field trip on Sunday, September 11. (Arrive at Scovel Hall by 6:45 a.m.)
Assignments: By now you should have shared a Dropbox folder with me. Essay #1 due in that Dropbox folder by 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 8 (Preparation questions)
September 13 —
Phylum Cnidaria: Jellyfish, Corals and Other Stingers
Reading: Wyse Jackson 68-71
Lab: No class or lab on September 15 (I’m out of town).
Special events: No class or lab on September 15 (I’m out of town).
Assignments: (Preparation questions)
September 20 & 22 —
Phylum Brachiopoda: The Lamp Shells
Reading: Wyse Jackson 89-91
Lab: Cnidarians
Special events:
Assignments: Lecture Exam #1 on Thursday, September 22. (Preparation questions)
September 29 —
Phylum Brachiopoda (continued)
Reading: Wyse Jackson 89-91
Lab: Lab Test #1 on Thursday, September 29; brachiopods after the test.
Special events: No class on Tuesday (GSA meeting in Denver).
Assignments: (Preparation questions)
October 4 & 6 —
Phylum Bryozoa: Fuzzy Moss Animals
Reading: Wyse Jackson 72-75
Lab: Brachiopods and bryozoans
Special events:
Assignments: (Preparation questions)
October 18 & 20 —
Phylum Mollusca: Our Friends the Gastropods and Cephalopods
Reading: Wyse Jackson 76-83
Lab: Polyplacophorans, monoplacophorans, gastropods and cephalopods
Special events:
Assignments: Research paper titles due in class on Thursday; (Preparation questions)
October 25 & 27 —
Phylum Mollusca: Cephalopods (continued); Scaphopods and Rostroconchs
Reading: Wyse Jackson 86-88
Lab: Scaphopods and rostroconchs
Special events:
Assignments: (Preparation questions)
- November 1 & 3 —
Phylum Mollusca: Bivalves; Hyoliths and the Origin of Mollusks
Reading: Wyse Jackson 84-87
Lab: Bivalves and hyoliths
Special events:
Assignments: Essay #2 due by 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, November 1 (2016-essay-2-assignment); Three research paper references due in class on Tuesday; Lecture Exam #2 on Thursday, November 3; (Preparation questions)
November 8 & 10 —
Arthropods: The Dominant Phylum
Reading: Wyse Jackson 101-109
Lab: Lab Exam #2 on Thursday, November 10; arthropods after the test.
Special events:
Assignments: (Preparation questions)
November 15 & 17 —
Phylum Arthropoda (continued)
Reading: Wyse Jackson 101-109
Lab: Arthropods
Special events:
Assignments: (Preparation questions)
- November 22 —
Phylum Echinodermata: They of the Spiny Skin
Reading: Wyse Jackson 92-100
Lab: Arthropods and echinoderms
Special events:
Assignments: Field studies report due on paper by 8:00 a.m.; (Preparation questions)
November 29 & December 1 —
Phylum Echinodermata (continued)
Reading: Wyse Jackson 92-100; special readings
Lab: Echinoderms
Special events:
Assignments: (Preparation questions)
December 6 & 8 —
Graptolites, Worms, Trace Fossils and Evolution
Reading: Wyse Jackson 110-113, 137-140; special readings
Lab: Graptolites, tubeworms, trace fossils; review of all specimens.
Special events:
Assignments: Research paper due in Dropbox folder by 7:30 a.m. on December 8; (Preparation questions)
December 14 (Wednesday) — Final Lab & Lecture Exam (7:00 – 10:00 p.m.)