- UCAS course code
- C100
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Science (BSc)
BSc Biology
Duration: 3 years
Year of entry: 2025
UCAS course code: C100 / Institution code: M20
- Key features:
Study abroad
Field trips
Accredited course
- Typical A-level offer: AAA-AAB including specific subjects
- Typical contextual A-level offer: AAB-ABC including specific subjects
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: ABB-ABC including specific subjects
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 36-35 points overall with 6,6,6 to 6,6,5 at HL, including specific requirements
Course unit details:
Dinosaur Palaeobiology
| Unit code | EART34001 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 10 |
| Unit level | Level 6 |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 1 |
| Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
Dinosaurs and their descendants, the birds, are some of the most successful vertebrates to have evolved, diversify and successfully occupy environments from Pole to Pole. The 230 million year fossil record chronicles their combined evolutionary success, a history that is underpinned by their archosauromorph origins. Students will examine the geological and palaeontological record, reviwing the tools that are now used to excavate, prepare, reconstruct and study the fossils that help provide an understanding of dinosaur palaeobiology. The Earth processes that were intimtaley associated with the evolution, diversification and distribution of archosaurs will be reviewed within a palaeobiogeographic framework. The death, buriel and preservation of vertebrate remains will also be studied to help reconstruct the taphonomic controls and overprints that might impact the fossil record and its interpretation. The ebb and flow of evolution and extinction will also be explored, as will the Mass Extinction events that hailed the beginning and also the end of the Mesozoic Age of the Dinosaurs. The origin and evolution of dinosaur avian descendants will also be explored in the broader context of the recovery of biomes after mass-extinction events.
This course unit detail provides the framework for delivery in 20/21 and may be subject to change due to any additional Covid-19 impact. Please see Blackboard / course unit related emails for any further updates.
Pre/co-requisites
| Pre-requisite units | None |
Aims
The course will provide an understanding of the terminology, palaeobiology and evolution of archosaurs, with a focus upon the dinosauria. It will also explore how dinosaur form and function was influenced by biological, physiological, mechanical, and environmental factors. Major changes of the Earth and its processes during the Mesozoic will also be discussed in detail in relation to their impacts upon the evolution of archosaurs.
Learning outcomes
| On the successful completion of the course, students will be able to: | Developed | Assessed | |
| ILO 1 | Demonstrate a broad understanding of dinosaur evolution and palaeobiology. | x | x |
| ILO 2 | Describe and understand the processes that impact upon the preservation of fossils (taphonomy) | x | x |
| ILO 3 | Will acquire the practical skills to describe, interpret and understand vertebrate fossils | x | x |
| ILO 4 | Use their knowledge to apply a suite of analytical techniques available to interrogate fossil remains both in the lab and the field. | x | x |
| ILO 5 | Use their knowledge to evaluate hypotheses relating to major vertebrate evolutionary events and evolutionary processes
| x | x |
Syllabus
Teaching and learning methods
The format for each week will be two 1 hour sessions (deliverd as blended learning to include reading, lectures and discussion groups (via blackboard or zoom). Students will given an assignment in week 3 that will be a hypothesis driven research topic to be handed-in on week 10. Each student will then deliver a ~10 minute live presentation on their reserach assignment to the whole class via zoom/blackboard.
Assessment methods
| Method | Weight |
|---|---|
| Written exam | 50% |
| Written assignment (inc essay) | 30% |
| Oral assessment/presentation | 20% |
Feedback methods
Assessment type | % Weighting within unit | Hand out and hand in dates | Length
| How, when and what feedback is provided | ILO tested |
| Hypothesis driven research assignment | 30% | Hand out week 3 Hand in week 10 | 2,500-3,000 word assignment | Written feedback | 1-5 |
Short seminar on research assignment | 20% | Week 11 and 12 | ~10 minutes | Written and scored feedback given 2 days of presentation | 1-5 |
Open Book assessment | 50% | End of term | 2 | Standard feedback after open-book assessment | 1-5 |
Recommended reading
Each week reading will be provided for the relevant literature, mostly in the form original scientific papers and articles.
Study hours
| Scheduled activity hours | |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 20 |
| Independent study hours | |
|---|---|
| Independent study | 80 |
Teaching staff
| Staff member | Role |
|---|---|
| Phillip Manning | Unit coordinator |
Additional notes
20 x 1 hour sessions deliverd as blended learning (combination of pre-class reading/video, along with lectures and seminars).