FOSSIL INVESTIGATIONS

Fossil Investigations

Contents: All Activities and Investigations
Fossil Investigations
Investigation 1 -- The Properties of Fossils
Investigation 2 -- Sediment Size and Fossil Formation
Investigation 3 -- Conditions for Fossil Formation
Investigation 4 -- Fossils through Geologic Time
Investigation 5 -- Comparing Fossils over Time
Investigation 6 -- Adaptations to a Changing Environment
Investigation 7 -- Being a Paleontologist

Investigation 1 -- The Properties of Fossils

The Nature of Fossils, Palomar College
This brief and concise introduction to fossils addresses what fossils are, aspects of the reliability
of the fossil record, and what fossils reveal about earlier life.
(http://anthro.palomar.edu/time/time_1.htm)
Fossils, Mineral Resources New South Wales
Learn about fossil formation, kinds of fossils, classifying fossils and more.
(http://www.minerals.nsw.gov.au/minfacts/61.htm)
Fossils, University of London
An introduction to fossils.
(http://www.gl.rhbnc.ac.uk/schools/cabinet01/cabinet01.htm)
Fossil Encyclopedia, Royal Tyrrell Museum

This on-line encyclopedia provides information on hundreds of fossils, arranged alphabetically. It also gives basic descriptions of common phyla, families, classes, orders, and genera within the fossil record.
http://www.tyrrellmuseum.com/encyclo/html

No resources listed at this time.

Fossilization and Preservation, University of Arizona
This online lab manual provides background information for an on-line laboratory. Information on fossil preservation, fossil type, skeletal mineralogies, and modes of preservation are offered here.
(http://www.geo.arizona.edu/geo3xx/308/cha1.html)
Trace Fossils, Carleton University
Click on this link to access a general overview of trace fossils and their importance. Dinosaur trace fossils are the main focus of the site.
(http://www.wf.carleton.ca/Museum/2001_tracefossils_dr/webpages/first.htm)

Investigation 2 -- Sediment Size and Fossil Formation

Sediment, USGS
View a sediment size chart.
(http://wrgis.wr.usgs.gov/docs/parks/rxmin/sediment.html)
Sedimentary Rock Identification, Montana State University
Information on sedimentary rocks types, grain size, shape, and sorting.
(http://www.homepage.montana.edu/~esci111/RockCycle-1/sedimentary.htm)
Sedimentary Rocks, University of British Columbia
This web page focuses on the nature of sediemntary rocks including carbonate and siliclastic rocks.
(http://www.science.ubc.ca/~geol202/sed/gsedin.html)

Rocks and Layers, United States Geological Survey (USGS)
Learn how and why fossils form in sedimentary rocks. Also, explore the different types of sedimentary rocks and how to use the sequencing of rock layers to interpret Earth history.
(http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/fossils/rock-layers.html)
Fossil Bearing Rocks, Kentucky Geological Survey
Visit this geological survey page to learn about a variety of fossil-bearing, sedimentary formations found in Kentucky.
(http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/fossils.htm#bearing)

Kinds of Fossils, Queensland Mining Council
Learn about the different kinds of fossils.
(http://www.qmc.com.au/schools-students-fossilskinds.htm)

Investigation 3 -- Conditions for Fossil Formation To learn more about the likelihood of fossilization, visit the following websites:

Maine Fossils: Remains of Life from Another Time and Place, Maine Geologic Survey
Scroll down to the "Where Fossils are Found" section to learn more about where fossils are generally located
and how this relates tot eh biased nature of the fossil record.
(http://www.state.me.us/doc/nrimc/pubedinf/factsht/paleo/fossil.htm)

What is the Fossil Record? How is it Biased, University of California, Berkeley

To learn more about depostitional environments, visit the following websites:

Photos of Depositional Environments, University of Oregon
See pictures of the different depositional environments and read about the type of sedimentary rocks formed in these different environments.
(http://www.uoregon.edu/~millerm/depenv.html)
Clastic Depositional Environment, University of British Columbia
Provides pictures of rocks common in sedimentary depositional environments.
(http://www.science.ubc.ca/~eoswr/clastic/clastic.html)

To learn more about the Burgess Shale, visit the following websites:

The Burgess Shale Site Map, The Yoho-Burgess Shale Foundation
Provides links to many topics of interest regarding the Burgess Shale.
(http://www.burgess-shale.bc.ca/menu.htm)
The Burgess Shale, University of California Berkeley
Learn about the Cambrian World, the fossils in the shale, and the discovery of the shale.
(http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/cambrian/burgess.html)

Investigation 4 -- Fossils through Geologic Time

1. Species

What are species and sub-specific taxa?, University of Toronto
Visit this online library resource to obtain information on distinguishing organisms from one another. Learn the taxonomic identification beginning with species, continuing through subspecies, varieties, and forma. This site primarily focuses on the taxonomy of vascular plants.
(http://www.library.utoronto.ca/muskoka_flora/misc/whatissp.htm)
The Precambrian and Vendian Mass Extinctions, Hooper Virtual Paleontological Museum
Learn about two mass extinction events that affected life's earliest organisms.
(http://hannover.park.org/Canada/Museum/extinction/venmass.html)
A History of Extinction, World Resources Institute
A brief discussion on mass extinction rates, human impact on extinctions, and the effects of
endemic and introduced species.
(http://www.wri.org/biodiv/b03-koa.html)

2. The Fossil Record

Evolution and the Fossil Record, American Geological Institute (AGI)
Explore this online publication to learn more about evolution and the fossil record.
(http://www.agiweb.org/news/evolution/index.html)
Taxonomy, Transitional Forms, and the Fossil Record, Kansas State University
Visit this site to learn more about the benefits and limitations of the fossil record.
(http://www.asa3.org/ASA/resources/Miller.html)

3. Stratigraphic CorrelationStratigraphy, Carleton University
Explore the science of stratigraphy as well as the complexities associated with correlating the strata within a stratigraphic column.
(http://www.wf.carleton.ca/Museum/biostrat/FOURA.HTML?98,24)

Biostratigraphy, Carleton University
Discover the relationship of stratigraphy and biostratigraphy by exploring this museum's site.
(http://www.wf.carleton.ca/Museum/biostrat/EIGHT.HTML)
Sequence Stratigraphy Terminology, University of South Carolina
This university's web site offers an online glossary of terms, illustrations, and links related to stratigraphy.
(http://strata.geol.sc.edu/terminology.html)
Sequence Stratigraphy Animated GIFS, University of South Carolina
This location provides animated GIF files describing various stratigraphic processes.
(http://strata.geol.sc.edu/anim_gifs.html)
Index Fossils, USGS
Learn why index fossils are useful to stratigraphers in correlating relative time scale and
view some of the most common index fossils through time.
(http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/fossils.html)

4. Dating Rocks

Fossils, Rocks, and Time, USGS
Learn about the relative and numeric time scales, rocks and layers, fossils and rocks, and fossil succession.
(http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/fossils/contents.html)
Relative Time Scale, USGS
Visit this site to learn more about the human history of establishing the relative time scale for Earth history. Diagrams illustrate how strata are used as a scale.
(http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/fossils.html)
Evolution and the Fossil Record, AGI
This online resource provides information on the absolute dating of rocks using biostratigraphy and radioactivity. It also offers graphys and pictures to aid your understanding of rock dating.
(http://www.agiweb.org/news/evolution/datingfossilrecord.html)
Relative Age Dating Using Fossils, Texas A&M University
A lesson using fossil data to determine relative ages of cores.
(http://oceandrilling.coe.tamu.edu/curriculum/Geological_Time/Fossil_Data/index.html)

Investigation 5 -- Comparing Fossils over Time

1. Identifying Fossils

Fossil Identification Key, Kentucky Geologic Survey
This key will help you use shape and descriptive terms to identify fossils.
(http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/fossilid2.html)
Where are the Fossils, San Diego Natural History Museum
This site offers eight suggestions for finding and identifying fossils. It begins by investigating location and continues with procedures for fossil recovery and identification.
(http://www.sdnhm.org/kids/fossils/ffwhere.html)
Follow a Fossil, Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Join a Denver Museum of Nature and Science paleontologist in a fossil hunt, from the beginning of the dig to the final display in a museum case! Site visitors can choose to explore vertebrates, invertebrates, or plants and in doing so, learn how paleontologists work.
(http://www.dmns.org/denverbasin2/fossil/)

2. Evolution in the Fossil Record

Evolution and the Fossil Record, American Geological Institute (AGI)
Explore this online publication to learn more about evolution and the fossil record.
(http://www.agiweb.org/news/evolution/index.html)
Proterozoic Era: Life, Museum of Paleontology
Explore this site for information on the early life forms in the Proterozoix Era. This site provides an informative glossary, links, and color pictures to help you build your conceptual framework.
(http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/precambrian/proterolife.html)
Web pages for Chapters in History of Life, 3rd Edition
Based on "History of Life" Third Ed., this web site includes resources for illustrations, as well as
current reports on new research, updates, and enrichment materials.
(http://www-geology.ucdavis.edu/~GEL3/3webpages.html)
Localities of the Vendian: Ediacara Hill, Australia, Museum of Paleontology
Explore the discovery of soft-bodied organisms from the Vendian Period of the late Precambrian Eon by an Australian geologist in the 1940's.
(http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/vendian/ediacara.html)
Learning about the Vendian Animals, Museum of Paleontology
This site provides text and illustrations for may Precambrian organisms.
(http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/vendian/critters.html)
The Burgess Shale: A Hidden Treasure in the Canadian Rockies, Carleton University
To find out more about the scientific significance of the Burgess Shale, explore this university's web site.
(http://www.wf.carleton.ca/Museum/burgessshale/titlen.html)

Investigation 6 -- Adaptations to a Changing Environment

Adaptation and Adaptationism, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Explore the meaning of biological adaptation and learn how to distinguish the difference between this type of adaptation and physiological adaptation of organims.
(http://cognet.mit.edu/MITECS/Entry/griffiths)
Natural Selection, Minnesota State University
Explore this electronic museum to learn more about adaptive strategies of organisms and how these adaptations help an organism to survive in an ever-changing environment.
(http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/biology/evolution/genetics/naturalselection.html)
Comparative Anatomy, University of Evansville
Vestigal organs are rudimentary structures that are of little or no use to an organism. Explore this university's web page for examples of vestigal structures and learn how these provide evidence of evolution.
(http://www2.evansville.edu/evolutionweb/evidence5.html)
Ecology, Extinction, and Evolution, British Broadcasting (BBC) Extinction Files
Explore this web site to get a brief introduction to how changes in Earth's environment can disrupt ecological niches.
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/darwin/exfiles/ec_ext_eco.htm)
Ecological Niche
This web page provides information on ecological niches and provides two useful examples.
(http://www.purchon.com/ecology/niche.htm)

Hunting for Dinosaur Bones, Indiana University Press
Learn why geologic maps are commonly used to identify potential fossil locations.
(http://www.indiana.edu/~iupress/books/0-253-33349-0ex1.html)
Where to Look?, Project Exploration
Visit this site to discover why geologic maps are important tools for locating fossils.
Scroll down to the "Teacher's Directions" section to get a brief overview of the usefulness of these maps.
(http://www.projectexploration.org/niger2000/wheretolook.htm)
What is a Geologic Map, USGS & NPS
Learn what a geologic map is and what information they provide.
(http://wrgis.wr.usgs.gov/docs/usgsnps/gmap/gmap1.html#what)

Western Interior Paleontological Society Paleo Links (http://www.wipsppc.com/!links.htm)
The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (http://www.vertpaleo.org)
Learning from the Fossil Record (http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/fosrec/Learning.html)
PaleoNet Pages, The University of California, Berkeley Museum of Paleontology and The Natural
History Museum, (http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/Paleonet/)
Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley (http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/)
Evolution and the Fossil Record, AGI (http://www.agiweb.org/news/evolution)

Fossils: Uncovering Clues to the Past Video, 24 Hours 7 Days
This video uncovers the many cluse fossils reveal about Earth's last 600 million years of life from the
simplest organisms that colonized the oceans to the complex mammals that exist today. Live action
footage and recent scientific ideas about ecology help you explore the major life forms that thrived
during the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic geologic eras. Teacher's Guide and glossary included.
Full-motion VHS. 20 minutes. Grades 7-12.
(http://www.24hours7days.com/Education/Fossils_Past_Clues_Video.html)
Evolution: Boxed Set (available on DVD and VHS)
Evolution offers a groundbreaking and definitive view of the extraordinary impact the evolutionary process
has had on our understanding of the world around us. Beginning with Darwin's revolutionary theory,
this seven-part series explores all facets of evolution. 8 hrs. on seven VHS video tapes, WG1158, $99.95 or 8 hrs. on 4 DVDs, WG35469, $99.95.
(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/shop/index.html)