Origins
and
Diversity of Land Plants
the
science of
embryophyte historical macroevolution
Biology
432/532
Origins and
diversification of the major lineages of
extant and fossil land plants. Transitions in morphology and
life-cycles engendering adaptive radiations in the land flora.
Paleontological and molecular evidence, and phylogenetic methods used
in reconstructing the evolutionary history of land plants. Two
4-hour lecture/laboratory sessions. Prerequisites: Bi 336.
More than three
billion years after the origin of life the land was
still essentially barren. Then quite suddenly as evolutionary time goes
the land was clothed in plant life. Origins
and Diversity of Land Plants explores the science of historical
evolution of embryophytes, or Land Plants, the lineage of Green Plants
that began colonizing the terrestrial envrionment at the dawn of the
Silurian some 440 million years ago. What are the
remote ancestors that gave rise to plants? What evolutionary steps mark
the transition from the ancient seas to a terrestrial environment? What
were the key innovations leading to the structurally and ecologically
diverse flora of
modern times? Why did it happen so suddenly?
Join us as we explore
the science of land plant diversity
through the depths of phanerozoic time.
More than a descriptive study of plant structures, the
course
will build understanding of morphology within the context of historical
macroevolution as a way of making sense out of the diversity of
modern and
fossil plants. Along the way we will develop familiarity with
phylogenetic methods and the tools of molecular genetics
that
in recent decades have transformed the study of historical plant
evolution from a
quietly
descriptive and speculative science into a bustling arena of testable
hypotheses about patterns of plant ancestry and descent. The science
of comparative morphology and molecular phylogenetics is, in many ways,
a paradigm of scientific
progress and change. The science of plant origins is
now engaged
in a renaissance that will change forever our understanding of how
plants
came to be as they are. This course is a guided tour of that scientific
renaissance as witnessed through up-to-date literature and will provide
a rich introduction to the mysteries of land plant origins and
diversity.
Meetings: Bi 432/532
will meet in SC 214 Tuesdays and
Thursdays from 1:00 until 4:50 PM.
This site was last updated on 1 December 2004.
Copyright © 2004
Steven
L. Jessup, Southern Oregon University
Acknowlegement: Background paleogeography of Silurian Earth by Ron Blakey.
