This course is for students who are interested in developing a basic understanding and appreciation for paleobiology (the field that use fossils to understand ecology and evolution on long-time scales) and its application to the study of global change across geologic and contemporary timescales. The course will cover deep-time paleontology (biological change over long periods of time) and recent historical climate and environmental impacts on global ecosystems (scale of millennia to decades), driven by both human and natural causes. Through case studies from mass extinctions to the Anthropocene, students will learn to interpret fossil and historical records, establish ecological baselines, and use deep time to inform predictions about Earth's biosphere and human society. This course provides baseline knowledge of the historical dimensions of environmental science, global biodiversity, and environmental change, which is fundamental for understand the future of our planet.

To pass a course, a student must do ALL of the following:

1)  obtain at least 30% of the total marks allocated towards continuous assessment (combination of assignments, pop quizzes, term paper, lab reports and/ or quiz, if applicable);

2)  obtain at least 30% of the total marks allocated towards final examination (if applicable); and

3)  meet the criteria listed in the section on Assessment Rubrics.