Thesis Statement:
The extinction of the dinosaurs has been credited to many different theories including asteroids, volcanoes and climate change, but one claim, evolution, has been largely ignored.
Argument:
Research question: What killed the dinosaurs?
Thesis: Although it is almost impossible to discover the truth, I believe that evolution played an important role in the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Reason #1: With carbon dating, scientists claim that the K-T extinction occurred between 65.5 and 66 million years ago. That is a window of 500,000 years in which the dinosaurs were killed off.
Reason #2: A combination of evolution and climate change possibly could have eliminated 75% of the species of plants and animals on the planet.
Reason #3: A mass extinction caused by a natural disaster would have taken much less time to destroy the flora and fauna on the planet.
Reason #4: The claims that a large meteorite or volcanic eruptions caused the extinction of the dinosaurs does not explain how mammals were able to survive in a post-apocalyptic reality.
Counterargument #1: Super volcanoes caused by the shifting of the tectonic plates caused the extinction of the dinosaurs
Counterargument#2: A large meteorite or asteroid crashed into the Earth creating an explosion that wiped the plants and animals off the face of the planet.
Counterargument#3: Climate change caused by either of the previous arguments or by greenhouse gases created a planet that was uninhabitable.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Week 8 RJA
Field Research Plan
For my field research, I plan on interviewing a paleontologist at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. I am currently waiting for a response to the e-mail I sent to three different paleontologists. My plan is to interview at least one, maybe two of them, and discuss their ideas on what caused the K-T extinction. Some of the questions I plan on asking are as follows:
1. What field do you specialize in?
2. Where did you go to school?
3. What are the prominent theories about the extinction of the dinosaurs at the K-T boundary?
4. How have the theories changed in the last twenty years?
5. What do you believe caused the extinction?
6. What are the theories of the causes of the other mass extinctions?
7. Is it possible that we are causing another mass extinction with global warming and pollution of the planet?
Bibliography
Officer, Charles and Page, Jake. The Great Dinosaur Extinction Controversy. New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.,1996. Print.
The Great Dinosaur Extinction Controversy describes in detail the history of the "Asteroid Theory" and how it became accepted by the majority of the world. The authors then explain how scientific discoveries have shown that this theory could be wrong. It goes into scientific detail about the effects an asteroid or volcano would have on the planet. The detail in this book is very technical, but explains how an asteroid could not have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Keller, G., Sahni, A., and Bajpai, S. "Deccan volcanism, the K-T mass extinction and dinosaurs." Journal of Biosciences. Volume 34, Issue 5, November 2009. Pgs. 709-728.
This article goes into detail about the Deccan volcano theory of the extinction of the dinosaurs. It uses scientific research to show the large eruptions of volcanoes in three different time periods around the same time as the extinction of the dinosaurs. This theory contradicts the idea that an asteroid caused the mass extinction and goes further to explain the scientific reasoning behind the volcanic theory.
Cowen, Richard. "The K-T Extinction". ucmp.berkeley.edu. 1999. Web. 14 March 2011.
This article explores both the asteroid and volcano theories. It discusses the scientific findings by geologists and how both theories are possible. It also touches on the other theories that are possible including an evolutionary theory. It also talks about "the ecology of a catastrophe" as well as "the doubts of a catastrophe". The author does a great job of looking at more than one side of the topic.
For my field research, I plan on interviewing a paleontologist at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. I am currently waiting for a response to the e-mail I sent to three different paleontologists. My plan is to interview at least one, maybe two of them, and discuss their ideas on what caused the K-T extinction. Some of the questions I plan on asking are as follows:
1. What field do you specialize in?
2. Where did you go to school?
3. What are the prominent theories about the extinction of the dinosaurs at the K-T boundary?
4. How have the theories changed in the last twenty years?
5. What do you believe caused the extinction?
6. What are the theories of the causes of the other mass extinctions?
7. Is it possible that we are causing another mass extinction with global warming and pollution of the planet?
Bibliography
Officer, Charles and Page, Jake. The Great Dinosaur Extinction Controversy. New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.,1996. Print.
The Great Dinosaur Extinction Controversy describes in detail the history of the "Asteroid Theory" and how it became accepted by the majority of the world. The authors then explain how scientific discoveries have shown that this theory could be wrong. It goes into scientific detail about the effects an asteroid or volcano would have on the planet. The detail in this book is very technical, but explains how an asteroid could not have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Keller, G., Sahni, A., and Bajpai, S. "Deccan volcanism, the K-T mass extinction and dinosaurs." Journal of Biosciences. Volume 34, Issue 5, November 2009. Pgs. 709-728.
This article goes into detail about the Deccan volcano theory of the extinction of the dinosaurs. It uses scientific research to show the large eruptions of volcanoes in three different time periods around the same time as the extinction of the dinosaurs. This theory contradicts the idea that an asteroid caused the mass extinction and goes further to explain the scientific reasoning behind the volcanic theory.
Cowen, Richard. "The K-T Extinction". ucmp.berkeley.edu. 1999. Web. 14 March 2011.
This article explores both the asteroid and volcano theories. It discusses the scientific findings by geologists and how both theories are possible. It also touches on the other theories that are possible including an evolutionary theory. It also talks about "the ecology of a catastrophe" as well as "the doubts of a catastrophe". The author does a great job of looking at more than one side of the topic.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Week 7 RJA
Evaluation of Sources
To start with my evaluations, I have chosen an encyclopedia article from www.encyclopedia.com. I searched the site for information about the article and found all the information I needed quickly and easily. The article actually comes from The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. The encyclopedia was copyrighted in 2008, which for my topic, fits the timeliness. I did not find the name of the author, but since it is in a recognized encyclopedia, I can find that information. There also were no citations, but there were many links to related articles. Overall this source is reliable and suitable for my paper.
My second evaluation is on the book The evolution and extinction of the dinosaurs by Professor David Fastovsky, Cambridge [U.K.]; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. He is a professor at University of Rhode Island in Geosciences. He has earned a PhD in Geology and has worked at many fossil digs. He used many sources that are all cited in the book. Again the timeliness of the book is okay for my topic and the suitability is great. He has written in many journals and is considered an authority on this subject matter. I would consider this an excellent source of information.
For my periodical article, I have chosen to use an article titled Mass extinctions and macroevolution from the journal Paleobiology. The article was written by David Jablonski who is a professor at University of Chicago. The article was published in June of 2005. The author is writing in a scientific journal and is, therefore, writing to his peers. The article was peer reviewed and cites sources for his information. The timeliness is still okay for my topic and the suitability is good for my research. Overall this is an okay source but I will continue to look for better articles.
For my website, there was one site that every search engine refers to. It is called DinoBuzz and is written by the University of California Museum of Paleontology. There are many links to all subjects related to dinosaurs. The authors of the site last updated in 2005 but it is still within the right time frame for my subject. All sources are cited on each article. The site is not as easy to navigate as some that I have looked at, but the information is suitable for my paper. DinoBuzz is a good source for basic information.
Quotation, Paraphrase and Summary
"But before we dive into the complex issue of the K-T extinction, we need essential background information to understand the basics of the controversy. The "great dying," as it is sometimes called, is an example of a mass extinction: an episode in evolutionary history where more than 50% of all known species living at that time went extinct in a short period of time (less than 2 million years or so)." www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/extinction.html
Research into the extinction of the dinosaurs begins with a definition. We define a mass extinction as "an episode in evolutionary history where more than 50% of all known species living at that time went extinct in a short period of time (less than 2 million years or so)." With that definition in mind we will now delve into the extinction of the dinosaurs approximately 65 million years ago.
Before we can discuss the extinction of the dinosaurs we must define what constitutes a mass extinction. It is when most of the species on Earth died off over a period of time. This is the beginning of the controversy surrounding what actually caused the extinction.
As we begin our research of what caused the dinosaurs to die, we have to first decide what entails mass extinction. Mass extinction is a period of time that sees the majority of the species of life on the planet disappear over a period of about 2 million years.
Webpage Annotation
DinoBuzz
To start with my evaluations, I have chosen an encyclopedia article from www.encyclopedia.com. I searched the site for information about the article and found all the information I needed quickly and easily. The article actually comes from The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. The encyclopedia was copyrighted in 2008, which for my topic, fits the timeliness. I did not find the name of the author, but since it is in a recognized encyclopedia, I can find that information. There also were no citations, but there were many links to related articles. Overall this source is reliable and suitable for my paper.
My second evaluation is on the book The evolution and extinction of the dinosaurs by Professor David Fastovsky, Cambridge [U.K.]; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. He is a professor at University of Rhode Island in Geosciences. He has earned a PhD in Geology and has worked at many fossil digs. He used many sources that are all cited in the book. Again the timeliness of the book is okay for my topic and the suitability is great. He has written in many journals and is considered an authority on this subject matter. I would consider this an excellent source of information.
For my periodical article, I have chosen to use an article titled Mass extinctions and macroevolution from the journal Paleobiology. The article was written by David Jablonski who is a professor at University of Chicago. The article was published in June of 2005. The author is writing in a scientific journal and is, therefore, writing to his peers. The article was peer reviewed and cites sources for his information. The timeliness is still okay for my topic and the suitability is good for my research. Overall this is an okay source but I will continue to look for better articles.
For my website, there was one site that every search engine refers to. It is called DinoBuzz and is written by the University of California Museum of Paleontology. There are many links to all subjects related to dinosaurs. The authors of the site last updated in 2005 but it is still within the right time frame for my subject. All sources are cited on each article. The site is not as easy to navigate as some that I have looked at, but the information is suitable for my paper. DinoBuzz is a good source for basic information.
Quotation, Paraphrase and Summary
"But before we dive into the complex issue of the K-T extinction, we need essential background information to understand the basics of the controversy. The "great dying," as it is sometimes called, is an example of a mass extinction: an episode in evolutionary history where more than 50% of all known species living at that time went extinct in a short period of time (less than 2 million years or so)." www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/extinction.html
Research into the extinction of the dinosaurs begins with a definition. We define a mass extinction as "an episode in evolutionary history where more than 50% of all known species living at that time went extinct in a short period of time (less than 2 million years or so)." With that definition in mind we will now delve into the extinction of the dinosaurs approximately 65 million years ago.
Before we can discuss the extinction of the dinosaurs we must define what constitutes a mass extinction. It is when most of the species on Earth died off over a period of time. This is the beginning of the controversy surrounding what actually caused the extinction.
As we begin our research of what caused the dinosaurs to die, we have to first decide what entails mass extinction. Mass extinction is a period of time that sees the majority of the species of life on the planet disappear over a period of about 2 million years.
Webpage Annotation
DinoBuzz
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