Environments+Through+Time

There is little direct evidence about the inception of life but from the available evidence, much of which has been gained from Australian rocks, geologists have been able to piece together an increasingly detailed description of the emergence of life. With the descriptions of fossil plants and animals, people can visualise the world as it was.

Palaeoecologists are able to describe past climates by the chemical and physical evidence from that time. When the information from the geological record about plants, animals, landforms and climates is combined, it is possible to describe past environments

The geological record provides evidence of periods of mass extinction often followed by periods when life forms have proliferated explosively. Some modern theories that attempt to explain the mass extinctions evident in the fossil record follow a neo-catastrophist model and evidence to support this model will be examined. This module allows the relationship between habitat alteration and the impact on life forms to be assessed and considers how much change leads to mass extinctions. Rapid adaptations and radiations of new species are a consequence of mass extinction events and the reasons for these will be considered.

When scientists are able to relate past changes in life forms to changing environmental conditions, they are then able to better predict the potential impact of human assisted environmental change and habitat destruction on modern life forms. When this is achieved, they may be better able to prevent more species from becoming endangered or extinct.

//**This module increases the students’ understanding of the historical background, the nature and practice, and the implications for society and the environment of Earth and Environmental Science.**//

**__Lesson Power Points__** Topic 1- First Life on Earth

Topic 2- The Environment of the Phanerozoic

Topic 3- Extinctions and Radiations

Review