Every week you must read each of the following papers or essays. You will then hand in a write-up on the article the following Monday. You will also have to be prepared to discuss the paper in class. If the quality of discussion is low, you may be called upon to read excerpts from your write-up to the class. An example writing exercise is available with instructions.
I may substitute in different readings if the class decides it wants to explore other topics. I will always give forewarning before making a substitution, and this website will be updated. Nevertheless, you should not read too far ahead of the class schedule for this reason.
| Link | Start Reading | Due Dates | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading01 | January 20 | January 25 | How many species concepts are there? |
| Reading02 | January 27 | February 01 | Hydrothermal vents and the origin of life. |
| Reading03 | February 03 | February 08 | Niche conservatism above the species level. |
| Reading04 | February 10 | February 15 | Latitudinal response curves. |
| Reading05 | February 17 | February 22 | Global biodiversity scenarios for the year 2100. |
| Reading06 | February 24 | February 29 | How good was the fossil record? Clues from the California Pleistocene. |
| Reading07 | March 02 | March 07 | The influence of lithification on Cenozoic marine biodiveristy trends. |
| Reading08 | March 09 | March 14 | Determinants of extinction in the fossil record. |
| Reading09 | March 16 | March 28 | Decoupling taxonomic and ecologic severity of mass extinctions. |
| Reading10 | March 30 | April 4 | Origination, extinction, and mass depletions of marine diversity. |
| Reading11 | April 6 | April 11 | The effect of geographic range on extincton risk. |
| Reading12 | April 13 | April 18 | Red Queen and Court Jester Hypothesis |
| Reading13 | April 20 | April 25 | Rates of Dinosaur Decline |
| Reading14 | April 27 | May 2 | Has the Earth's sixth mass extinction already arrived? |