Origin and Early Evolution of Life

This course covers the origin and divergence of prokaryotes and eukaryotes, their palaeobiology and ecology of major clades of unicellular biota and their evolution through time as well as applications in stratigraphy, biotic radiations and extinctions. The Phanerozoic evolution of the invertebrates and the plants are covered and applied during a mandatory excursion. The excursion normally takes place in Wales, Great Britain, ca 10 days in late September/early October and is associated with a cost of 1250 SEK for students. The course also contains practical work, such as microscopy.