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Certificate of Achievement
has completed the following course:
University of Cape Town
This online course explored the five major mass extinction events that occurred in the distant past and how these events have ultimately shaped our planet's biodiversity. Drawing on knowledge of the past and how human actions are reducing biodiversity that is threatening the survival of many species, the course considered the threat of a possible 'sixth extinction’ today.
5 weeks, 3 hours per week
Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan
Professor of Palaeobiology
University of Cape Town
Transcript
Learning outcomes
- Identify how the five past mass extinctions have impacted life on earth by looking at changes across the fossil record
- Debate the prospect of a sixth extinction today drawing on knowledge from past extinction events
- Investigate how understanding the past extinction events helps us respond to contemporary environmental challenges
Syllabus
- The five past mass extinctions and their impact on life on earth
- What we know about the past from the fossil record
- The earliest forms of life
- From simple to complex life forms
- Extinction and radiation as drivers of change
- Likely causes of mass extinctions throughout earth’s history
- Current threats to biodiversity
- What we can do to reduce the risk of a ‘sixth extinction’
Issued on 13th June 2019
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This certificate represents proof of learning. It is not a formal qualification, degree, or part of a degree.