BGU Foram's Lab

Introduction to Paleontology (undergraduate) 206-11121

Paleontology deals with the history of life on earth, and is one of the core disciplines in geological and biological sciences. This course is aimed to comprehensive overview of the roles of fossils in understanding how life evolved and diversified and to introduce related disciplines, such as systematics, and evolution.

Syllabus Plan

1. Introduction; Preservation and the fossil record

2. Fossilization and skeletal mineralogy

3. Description of fossil.

4. Species and Speciation.

5. Principles of classification and systematic.

6. Evolution; Historical and modern perspectives.

7. Evolution: processes and mechanisms.

8. Extinctions: Facts and numbers.

9. The origin of life and earth’s earliest life forms.

10. Late Precambrian and basal Paleozoic events; the Cambrian explosion.

11. Paleozoic: Leaving the water; colonization of land and air.

12. Mesozoic: The age of the dinosaurs.

13. Cenozoic: The age of the mammals.

14. *The evolution of hominids (pending the course schedule).

Paleontology laboratory 206-1-1123

This course is aimed to provide a practical introduction to the main invertebrate fossil groups (single celled and metazoans). Each lab provides information on the taxonomy morphology, ecology, stratigraphy, and evolution of each group. A special emphasis is given to groups that are found in Israel.

Methods in Evolutionary Paleobiology 206-13831

The course aims to provide coverage of both core principles of evolutionary paleobiology as well as investigating key topics. Specifically, the course will focus on the importance and contribution of the fossil record to the field of evolution. In addition, students will learn to review, and discuss the research literature in this field.

Syllabus Plan

1. Macroevolution vs. Microevolution: concept and definitions.

2. Species and Speciation. Models: Punctuated Equilibrium vs. Phyletic gradualism.

3. Species sorting and species selection

4. External and internal forces of evolution.

5.Evo Devo and the fossils records.

6. Heterochrony disparity and evolution.

7. Systematics and evolution.

8. Marine diversity through the Phanerozoic.

9. The role of mass extinctions events in evolution.

Students Seminars (undergraduate) 206-13531

הקורס נועד להעניק לסטודנטים את הכלים הדרושים ללימוד וניתוח נושא מדעי חדש. לפיכך נדרשת התמודדות עם מאמרים מקוריים, הבנת הכתוב, חשיבה ביקורתית, והתבוננות במקורות נוספים לצורך הבהרת הנושא, סיכום הדברים בכתב והרצאת החומר הקורס נועד להכין סטודנטים לחיים מחוץ למסגרת הלימודים הנוכחית, שם כאקדמאים ידרשו להתמודד עם חומר כתוב ולהפיק ממנו את מירב האינפורמציה והתועלת בפרק זמן קצוב. בעבר רבים ניצלו את הסמינר כהזדמנות לבחון נושא פוטנציאלי שאפשר לפתחו במסגרת לימודים לתואר מתקדם.

Applied Micropaleontology (graduate) 206.2.5381

The aims of this course are to provide students with practical issues of micropalaeontology, develop skills in the acquisition of quantitative scientific data and their subsequent analysis in terms of paleoecological interpretations. Students will learn to obtain and process, quantitative micropalaeontological and geochemical data and apply it to stratigraphical and palaeobiological problems.

Foraminifera as Bioindicators (graduate) 206.2.38810

Forams are considered as one of the most powerful tools for marine biomonitoring. As unicellular organisms with a short reproductive cycle and fast growth rates, they show a quick response to environmental change and serve as extremely sensitive indicators of nutrient availability, salinity, irradiation, oxygen concentration, anthropogenic contaminations as well as temperature fluctuations. Recent advantage made by the FOBIMO team provided the necessary guidelines and criteria for future foram’s monitoring studies. The aim of this course is to introduce the concepts, and contribution of foraminiferal biomonitoring, and the array of tools and that are used in this field, through the examples of recent case studies.