Paleontology

  1. Reconstructing Ancient Worlds
    1. Paleoecology
      1. Reconstructing Ancient Ecosystems
        1. Fossil Assemblages
          1. Environmental Indicators
          2. Trophic Structures and Food Webs
            1. Producers
              1. Primary Consumers
                1. Secondary Consumers
                  1. Decomposers
                    1. Predator-Prey Relationships
                    2. Community Dynamics
                      1. Succession and Turnover
                        1. Diversity Patterns
                          1. Extinction Patterns
                          2. Biogeography and Plate Tectonics
                            1. Continental Drift
                              1. Dispersal and Vicariance
                            2. Paleoclimatology
                              1. Using Fossils as Climate Proxies
                                1. Oxygen Isotopes
                                  1. Leaf Margin Analysis
                                    1. Pollen Analysis
                                    2. Ice Ages and Interglacial Periods
                                      1. Glacial Cycles
                                        1. Effects on Fauna and Flora
                                      2. Functional Morphology
                                        1. Inferring Function from Form
                                          1. Comparative Analysis
                                          2. Biomechanics
                                            1. Locomotion
                                              1. Feeding Mechanisms
                                                1. Structural Adaptations
                                              2. Reconstructing Behavior
                                                1. Evidence from Trace Fossils
                                                  1. Trackways and Burrows
                                                  2. Social Behavior
                                                    1. Herding
                                                      1. Nesting
                                                        1. Parental Care
                                                        2. Predation and Defense
                                                          1. Bite Marks and Injuries
                                                            1. Defensive Structures

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                                                        5. History of Life: Major Groups

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                                                        7. Macroevolution and the Fossil Record