BIOL 114 Biodiversity: Past Present & Future

(Junior and senior biology majors cannot take a second BIOL 110-129 course without permission from the Department.) This course explores the broad history of biological diversity, from the origins of life through the evolution of dinosaurs to the disappearance of prehistoric mammals during the last Ice Age. Current issues addressed will include the scope of present-day biological diversity, its usefulness to humans and its importance to ecosystems. The course will emphasize the causes of extinction, its possible consequences and strategies to conserve and restore biological diversity for the future.