Unit name | Biomechanics and Functional Morphology |
---|---|
Unit code | EASCM0024 |
Credit points | 10 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1B (weeks 7 - 12) |
Unit director | Professor. Rayfield |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
n/a |
Co-requisites |
n/a |
School/department | School of Earth Sciences |
Faculty | Faculty of Science |
Why are fossil animals shaped in a particular way? How does this relate to their behaviour? In this unit we will examine how biomechanical techniques and inference from living animals shape our understanding of form and function in fossils. Firstly, students will be introduced to biomechanical principles and techniques, and the issues of adaptation and constraint, before considering their application to problems of fossil animal function. Concepts of basic structural mechanics will be introduced along with an overview of the biology and functional morphology of the musculoskeletal system, including shape and scaling aspects. The practical application of biomechanics to fossil function will then be considered, focusing on a variety of topics such as feeding and cranial evolution (early tetrapods, lizards and snakes, dinosaurs, mammals), locomotion on land (dinosaurs, hominids and arthropods), in water (plesiosaurs) and air (insects, pterosaurs, birds), physiology (dinosaurian and mammalian endothermy) and fighting and display structures.
The unit aims to:
On successful completion students will be able to:
Lectures and practicals
There is no formal exam. Instead the unit is assessed through (A) an extended essay and (B) two assessed practicals.
A. The 2000-word extended essay will comprise 50% of the total unit mark. The deadline for submission is the end of week 12.
Assessment for the extended essay will be completed in accordance with the University Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes, available online at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/esu/assessment/codeonline.html
B. Two out of the five practical classes will also be assessed; each assessed practical will contribute 25% to the total unit mark. Answers will be made available for self-reflection and ongoing progression.