Biology 3466B Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Macroevolution, Radiometric Dating
Document Summary
One of the methods for describing macroevolution is through paleontology. This is because there many types of fossils that can be excavated and fossils can be dated in a relative (timing relative to each other) manner or in an absolute (e. g. radiometric dating) fashion. Examples of geographic biases include sedimentation in oceans being responsible for the reason why aquatic organisms fossilize most often. Examples of taxonomic biases include how only bones and rocks can be dated (by the carbon method), but most cannot morphological structures cannot. Examples of temporal biases include the fact that fossils in higher sediment are often younger (and most frequently found) as well as the loss of fossils through erosion.