UCT GSB - Extinctions: Past and Present

Offered byFutureLearn

Extinctions: Past and Present
at
FutureLearn
Overview

Duration	5 weeks
Total fee	₹2,252
Mode of learning	Online
Official Website	Go to Website
Credential	Certificate

Extinctions: Past and Present
at
FutureLearn
Highlights

Duration 5 weeks
Weekly study 3 hours
100% online Learn at your own pace

Extinctions: Past and Present
at
FutureLearn
Course details

More about this course

At present, biodiversity is facing a crisis, with the prospect of a sixth extinction event today.
On this course, you'll explore how life on earth has been shaped by five mass extinction events in the distant past.
Each week there are discussions with scientists about how their research informs us about the biodiversity of our planet including the very first life forms; fish and tetrapod diversification; the radiation of reptiles and dinosaurs; and the rise of mammals.
We focus on the five previous mass extinction events that have shaped the biodiversity of our planet. The fossil record reveals evidence of species that went extinct during these mass extinctions and the new opportunities created for the surviving biota to diversify.
Turning to the present and the Anthropocene period, we look at how human behaviour is now beginning to impact the Earth's ecosystems.
We consider the threat of the so-called, sixth extinction, finding out how our actions are reducing biodiversity and threatening the survival of many species.
Extinctions: Past and Present is created by the University of Cape Town, and filmed on location at South Africa's Iziko Museum, West Coast Fossil Park, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, and the Table Mountain National Park.
You will learn with Professor Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan an acclaimed paleobiologist, author of a range of academic and children's books on fossils, and former South African Woman of the Year. In 2013 she was awarded The World Academy of Science's Sub-Saharan Prize for the Public Understanding and Popularization of Science.