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
Monday, February 28, 2011
Week 6 RJA
For my first internet search I chose to try a different search engine. I used All the web to see if I received any new web sites as a result of my search. I actually did find a few sites that didn't pop up on bing, yahoo or google.
- All the web
- extinction, dinosaurs, comets, volcanoes
- extinction+dinosaurs, dinosaurs+volcanoes, extinction+comets
- 2/27-2/28
- There was actually over two million hits for my first search but I narrowed it down with other searches
- relevancy was 4 out of 5
- Academic index.net
- extinction, dinosaurs, asteroids, volcanoes
- extinction+dinosaurs, extinction+dinosaurs+asteroids
- 2/26-2/28
- There were a large number of sites again, but I actually found an article that has changed my ideas about the time of the extinction.
- 5 out of 5
- Open Directory Project
- extinction, paleontology, dinosaurs
- extinction+dinosaurs, with a little help from the site I was able to narrow down my topic. Earth Sciences: Paleontology: Extinction: Cretaceous-Tertiary
- 2/28
- I found fourteen articles on my topic
- 5 out of 5
- IncyWincy
- extinction, dinosaurs, K-T
- extinction+dinosaurs
- 2/28
- There were over 1100 hits
- 3 out of 5
- Addictomatic
- extinction, dinosaurs, paleontology
- extinction+dinosaurs+paleontology
- 2/27
- only about three hits actually had any relevancy for me\
- 1 out of 5
- Blog catalog
- dinosaurs
- dinosaurs - I actually had to broaden my search to find anything at all about dinosaurs
- 2/28
- 0 relevant blogs
- 0 out of 5
- Icerocket
- Dinosaurs
- Dinosaurs- again broad term
- 2/28
- 0 relevant social media hits
- 0 out of 5
- Blinkx
- Dinosaurs, extinction
- dinosaurs+extinction
- 2/27
- 832 videos but most were aimed towards children and lacked much relevancy.
- 2 out of 5
Monday, February 21, 2011
Week 5 RJA
"mass extinction." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 21 Feb. 2011 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.
As I began my search for the right sources to reference for my topic, I started with books, then moved on to periodicals and finished up with my reference sources. It was actually a good thing I did. Searching for books was quite easy online and in the library; the periodicals were easier to find online; and the reference sources were easier in the library. As I was searching for reference materials online, I only found three sources that were easy to access and get information. The relevancy of the articles I found were very high (five out of five).I searched a few different encyclopedias and dictionaries. I used very general keywords and search strings. I only used dinosaur and extinction, because the more specific the words the less information was found. I started this search on 2/19 and finished on 2/21.
Books
Fastovsky, David E.
The evolution and extinction of the dinosaurs/ David E. Fastovsky, David B. Weishampel: with illustrations by John Sibbick
Cambridge [U.K.]; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2005.
2nd ed.
Officer, Charles B.
The great dinosaur extinction controversy/ Charles Officer and Jake Page
Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, c1996
Helix Books
Ward, Peter Douglas
Under a green sky: global warming, the mass extinctions of the past, and what they mean for our future
New York : Smithsonian Books/Collins, 2007.
1st Smithsonian Books ed.
Frankel, Charles
The end of the dinosaurs : Chicxulub crater and mass extinctions
New York : Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Researching the books I wanted to use took quite a bit of time. I started out looking on the Auraria Library web site and found many different books just using the keywords extinction and dinosaurs. I started off using the search string KT dinosaur extinction and then become a little more general. I found 29 books with high relevancy for my topic, four out of five. I then went to Barnes and Noble and bought two of the books (the first and fourth ones). I also went to the Denver Library and found the second one. I feel like the books I found will be very beneficial to my subject. I do plan on returning to the library for other books as well. I am finding that this topic has many possible sources.
Periodicals
Keller, G. , Sahni, A. , Bajpai, S.
Deccan volcanism, the KT mass extinction and dinosaurs
Journal of Biosciences
Vol.: 34 Issue: 5 Pgs.: 709-728
Published: Nov. 2009
Buffetaut, E.
Polar dinosaurs and the question of dinosaur extinction: a brief review
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
Volume: 214 Issue: 3 Pages: 225-231 Published: NOV 18 2004
As I began my search for the right sources to reference for my topic, I started with books, then moved on to periodicals and finished up with my reference sources. It was actually a good thing I did. Searching for books was quite easy online and in the library; the periodicals were easier to find online; and the reference sources were easier in the library. As I was searching for reference materials online, I only found three sources that were easy to access and get information. The relevancy of the articles I found were very high (five out of five).I searched a few different encyclopedias and dictionaries. I used very general keywords and search strings. I only used dinosaur and extinction, because the more specific the words the less information was found. I started this search on 2/19 and finished on 2/21.
Books
Fastovsky, David E.
The evolution and extinction of the dinosaurs/ David E. Fastovsky, David B. Weishampel: with illustrations by John Sibbick
Cambridge [U.K.]; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2005.
2nd ed.
Officer, Charles B.
The great dinosaur extinction controversy/ Charles Officer and Jake Page
Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, c1996
Helix Books
Ward, Peter Douglas
Under a green sky: global warming, the mass extinctions of the past, and what they mean for our future
New York : Smithsonian Books/Collins, 2007.
1st Smithsonian Books ed.
Frankel, Charles
The end of the dinosaurs : Chicxulub crater and mass extinctions
New York : Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Researching the books I wanted to use took quite a bit of time. I started out looking on the Auraria Library web site and found many different books just using the keywords extinction and dinosaurs. I started off using the search string KT dinosaur extinction and then become a little more general. I found 29 books with high relevancy for my topic, four out of five. I then went to Barnes and Noble and bought two of the books (the first and fourth ones). I also went to the Denver Library and found the second one. I feel like the books I found will be very beneficial to my subject. I do plan on returning to the library for other books as well. I am finding that this topic has many possible sources.
Periodicals
Keller, G. , Sahni, A. , Bajpai, S.
Deccan volcanism, the KT mass extinction and dinosaurs
Journal of Biosciences
Vol.: 34 Issue: 5 Pgs.: 709-728
Published: Nov. 2009
Buffetaut, E.
Polar dinosaurs and the question of dinosaur extinction: a brief review
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
Volume: 214 Issue: 3 Pages: 225-231 Published: NOV 18 2004
My research with periodicals was quite easy. I used the databases from the Auraria Library, specifically the ISI web of knowledge and Academic Search Premier Plus. I easily found a large amount of relevant information using only two keywords and one search string. The keywords I used were extinction and dinosaurs and the search string I used was “mass extinction” and dinosaur not animals. I started my search on 2/19 and finished my readings on 2/21. Of the thirty articles I found the average relevancy was around a four (out of five).
Sunday, February 13, 2011
week 4 RJA
Keyword
Extinction, Disappearance, Dinosaurs, Animals, Lizards, Volcanoes, Asteroids, Cretaceous, Tertiary, Meteor, Disease, Climate change,
Search Strings
Dinosaur and Extinction not Animals
Extinction near dinosaurs
Extinction or disappearance and dinosaurs
Volcanoes+Asteroids -Meteor
(Meteor*+lizards*)-animals
disease+climate change+meteor+volcano+extinction+dinosaurs -animals
Field Research Options
Interview a scientist at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Attend a Dinosaur Ridge Tour
Attend live chat with paleontologist
Visit Morrison Natural History Museum
Attend lecture by a paleontologist
Extinction, Disappearance, Dinosaurs, Animals, Lizards, Volcanoes, Asteroids, Cretaceous, Tertiary, Meteor, Disease, Climate change,
Search Strings
Dinosaur and Extinction not Animals
Extinction near dinosaurs
Extinction or disappearance and dinosaurs
Volcanoes+Asteroids -Meteor
(Meteor*+lizards*)-animals
disease+climate change+meteor+volcano+extinction+dinosaurs -animals
Field Research Options
Interview a scientist at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Attend a Dinosaur Ridge Tour
Attend live chat with paleontologist
Visit Morrison Natural History Museum
Attend lecture by a paleontologist
Sunday, February 6, 2011
week 3 RJA
Research Topic Exploration
While exploring my topic, I discovered that there were many more sub topics than I thought. Many scientists actually doubt the idea that the dinosaur extinction was one catastrophic event. Mass extinction has happened a few times in history and could have actually happened over a period of millions of years. If evolution does not occur, species will die off. Many scientists debate the different ideas of extinction, including the scientists at University of California at Berkeley who originally proposed different theories of the extinction. The evidence discovered by archaeologists lead scientists to discuss the ideas of asteroids, volcanoes, disease and climate change, although there are many more theories. The topic of the dinosaur extinction is much more involved than I originally thought.
Research Topic Focus
I believe that my ideas are still going to focus on the four major theories of the extinction of the dinosaurs which are asteroids, volcanoes, disease and climate change. After the little amount of research I have done, I am beginning to believe that it might have been a combination of all of these things. If you ask most people the two major theories are asteroids and volcanoes. My issue with these ideas is the lack of evidence to support one catastrophic event causing the extinction of 70% of the life on the planet. This was not the first major extinction. Previous to this there was an extinction that caused the loss of 90% of the life on this planet. Is it possible that both of these extinctions could have been caused by the same things? Could it happen to us? These are the questions that need to be answered by the scientific investigation.
Research Question
What caused the extinction of the dinosaurs?
When did this happen and was it a catastrophic event or a process of time?
Why did it happen (overpopulation, weather, etc.)?
Would this have happened under different circumstances?
If this was caused by a major catastrophic event, where did it happen?
How did the environment impact the extinction of the dinosaurs?
Who originally proposed the different theories of the extinction of the dinosaurs?
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