Program Overview

Life on Earth (BIOL0004)

Key Information

• Faculty: Faculty of Life Sciences
• Teaching department: Division of Biosciences
• Credit value: 15
• Restrictions: This module is compulsory for first year Biological Sciences students. Dependent on numbers, the module may be taken as an elective by students (including affiliate students) on other degree programmes.

Alternative Credit Options

There are no alternative credit options available for this module.

Description

"Life on Earth" will begin by discussing the evidence for the origins of the solar system, the emergence of life, and the conditions under which it emerged, and the origin of eukaryotic cells. The theory behind reconstructing trees of evolutionary relatedness will be introduced and patterns of relatedness in the living world discussed, ranging from familiar creatures to new and bizarre forms being discovered in the depths of the oceans and under the earth's surface. All main branches of life will be covered with a particular focus on the evolution of plants and their importance to global biodiversity and on the many groups of invertebrates and vertebrates including ourselves.

In addition to lectures, you will attend practical sessions in the Grant Museum of Zoology. At the end of the module, you should be familiar with the diversity of living organisms; with classification of the living world; with the origins and history of life; and with the fundamental body plans of major groups of animals. You will have a solid grounding in modern ideas of the history of evolution of life on earth and understand the link between the evolution of developmental processes and the evolution of adult morphology.

Indicative Lecture Topics

• Cladistics and interpreting trees
• Origins of the universe
• Origins of the solar system
• Origin of Life
• Origin and diversity of eukaryotes
• Diversity of prokaryotes
• Key Concepts in Embryology and Morphology
• Non-Bilaterian animals: sponges, jellyfish and others
• Homology, Urbilateria and Mesozoa
• Ecdysozoa
• Lophotrochozoa
• Deuterostomes
• Origins and diversification of plants
• The land plants and diversification of angiosperms
• The fishes
• The origin, evolution and extinction of dinosaurs
• Vertebrate evolution – synapsid mammals
• Vertebrate evolution – cenozoic mammals

Module Objectives

• A basic understanding of the origins of the elements and of the solar system resulting in the early earth; possible scenarios for the appearance of life on earth.
• Knowledge of the diversity of life on earth and of the programme to understand how this diversity evolved through time.
• A basic understanding of how to interpret phylogenetic trees, the principle of parsimony and the language used to described trees.
• Knowledge of the origins of eukaryotes and of the major divisions of prokaryotes, plants and animals.
• A broad understanding of metazoan relationships and the characters and innovations that define major animal groups.
• A basic understanding of vertebrate relationships and key evolutionary adaptation.

Module Deliveries for 2026/27 Academic Year

Intended Teaching Term: Term 1, Undergraduate (FHEQ Level 4)

Teaching and Assessment

• Mode of study: In person
• Methods of assessment:
  • 20% Coursework
  • 80% Exam
• Mark scheme: Numeric Marks The methods of assessment for affiliate students may be different to those indicated above.

Other Information

• Number of students on module in previous year: 138
• Module leader: Professor Max Telford