Browsing by Subject "fossils"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Extinctions: Past and Present Week 1 - From simple to complex
    (2017-03-17) Chinsamy-Turan, Anusuya
    In this video, Professor Anusaya Chinsamy-Turan uses several examples to explain how life on Earth has evolved over billions of years from simple unicellular organisms to the complex multicellular lifeforms that we see today. She makes the point that there is clear evidence of the evolution and diversification of organisms by looking at fossils from different time periods from all over the world.
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    Extinctions: Past and Present Week 2 - A fossil ecosystem
    (2017-03-17) Chinsamy-Turan, Anusuya; Guess, Rob
    In this video, Professor Anusaya Chinsamy-Turan interviews paleontologist Dr Rob Gess about the Devonian fossil site called Waterloo Farm in Grahamstown, South Africa. He discusses the unique nature of the site given how it contains rare fossils with soft tissue preserved and he goes on to describe several interesting examples of these fossils.
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    Extinctions: Past and Present Week 2 - Setting the stage for the diversity of life
    (2017-03-17) Chinsamy-Turan, Anusuya
    In this video, Professor Anusaya Chinsamy-Turan outlines the topic of two major extinction events that will be discussed in subsequent videos: the end of the Ordovician and the end of the Devonian. She introduces Tetsuto Miyashita who will talk about the diversification of early vertebrates and the origin of jawed fishes. She then introduces Rob Guess who talk talk about the diversity of fossils present in a locality in South Africa.
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    Extinctions: Past and Present Week 3 - A crisis before the end of the Permian
    (2017-03-17) Chinsamy-Turan, Anusuya; Day, Michael
    In this video, Professor Anusaya Chinsamy-Turan interviews Dr Michael Day about the reptilian fauna of the Permian and how South Africa is well-known for fossils from this time period. He talks about the Guadalupian extinction event and how it was mainly affected by the very large terrestrial biota of the time.
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    Extinctions: Past and Present Week 3 - Reading rocks
    (2017-03-17) Chinsamy-Turan, Anusuya; Smith, Roger
    In this video, Professor Anusaya Chinsamy-Turan interviews Dr Roger Smith about his 30-year career working on fossils in the Karoo basin of South Africa. He outlines the research questions he has investigated, the scientific techniques he has used, and the interesting findings he has uncovered. This is video 3 in Week 3 of the Extinctions: Past and Present MOOC.
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    Extinctions: Past and Present Week 4 - A window in time
    (2017-03-17) Chinsamy-Turan, Anusuya; Haarhoff, Pippa
    In this video, Professor Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan interviews Pippa Haarhoff, manager of the West Coast Fossil Park. They discuss the fossils found at the park and how they reveal a different habitat from today. They discuss how the fossil site was discovered and role of local people in conservation efforts.