Syllabus
1) Introductory unit - base of palaeobiology: a) Fossils - how they look, how they are originated, what they document and testify b) Determination of geological time - methods for determination of relative and absolute ages, their accuracy and reliability; survey of main stratigraphic units and stratigraphic chart c) Geological and geographical in the past of the Earth - forming of the Earth, plate tectonics; survey of palaeogeography, climates and temperatures, glaciations, sea level changes; palaeobiogeographical aspects 2) Evolution of global ecosystem: a) Origin of life and evolution during the Precambrian b) General spects - mass extinctions, concept of evolutionary faunas, tiering, evolution of some ecosystems such as reefs, terrestrialization, evolution of invertebrates, vertebrates and plants. c) Overview on periods of the Earth history - with emphasis on evolutionary faunas and floras, principal evolutionary inovations, extinctions and main changes in ecosystems, including their causes, effects and evolutionary roles. Examples and fossils for each period are focused on material found in the Czech Republic and central Europe.
Practice is organized in the field. Its main target is to demonstrate an information value of fossils.
Annotation
The course is meant especially for students of different branches of neontological biology. It is an introducition to historical biology and give an overview on its main aspects.