NAU Biology BIO 372
NAU
Syllabus The Class Communicate Library Instructor
HelpGet Started
BIO372 : Extinction

Extinction

Throughout the history of the earth, species have adapted to new environmental conditions. Those individuals and species that did not meet the changing challenges of their habitat were replaced by those that did.

Occasionally, the environment changed so radically and so fast that only those species that were already adapted to the new conditions managed to survive through the transition. The others died out.

From our vantage point in the present, it seems that the great catastrophes in geologic time happened very fast. In fact, most of the mass extinctions occurred over a period of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of years. When conditions were right, remains of the dead were preserved as fossils. We can trace the changes that occurred in the past by examining the fossils of our ancestors and of the ancestors of other species.

With the disappearance of the dominant species during the great crises of the past, opportunities were opened for development and divergence of those that remained.

We will take a look at some of the mass extinctions in the history of the earth, look for evidence to explain how they occurred, try to identify patterns, and observe changes in certain groups of organisms.

After completing this module, you should be able to:

To complete this module, you should:



E-mail Professor Gaud at William.Gaud@nau.edu
or call (520) 523-7516
NAU Copyright 2000 Northern Arizona University
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED