In the morning of the second day of the conference there was a major focus on the break up of Gondwanaland. Peter Bengtson from the Geological and Palaeontological Institute of Heidelberg presented an overview of the timing of the opening of the Atlantic Ocean based on fossil evidence. Sergipe Province in the North East of Brazil holds the key fossil sequences that require comparison with African fossil sequences to elucidate the timing of the rifting between the two continents. He has studied this topic for many years and made many visits to Brazil for field work. He outlined which groups could most successfully be applied to correlations. He indicated that some were of restricted value despite their abundance for either a lack of taxonomic clarity and/or poor preservation. He also outlined future work that needs to be done, in particular on sequences in Angola. He noted that palaeontological field work can be challenging when you have to consider the possibility of land mines. This overview set the stage for a more detailed presentation from Eduardo Apostolus Machado Kotsoukus from Petrobras who has tracked the separation of the two continents with microfossil data. He proposed that it was possible from his data to discriminate periods of oceanic anoxia interleaved with periods of higher oceanic productivity that probably had a global impact.

In the afternoon there was the first of a series of short presentations on the theme of palaeontology and education. There is very little earth science in the school curriculum. There is, however, a committed band of young people in Brazil who are interested in making a difference by introducing palaeontology into the school system in different ways. They are a mixture of university and museum workers who believe that the education system in Brazil would be much better served if palaeontology was actually a compulsory core subject in high school. They argue that this would give the next generation a capacity for greater insights into issues of biodiversity and conservation than can be done through a curriculum focussed on biology and geography alone.

The papers that were presented consisted of both arguments seeking change in the education system and greater palaeontological opportunities for all those who undertake training as science teachers. There were also outlines of some innovative programs that many of them have undertaken either with or without funding support. Fernanda Torello de Mello has instigated programs for young school children to help develop an understanding of deep time through art installations at their local schools. There was a program to bring palaeontological experiences and information to deaf people. Another one covered the development of inventive ways to teach children about palaeobiogeographic concepts using maps and model animals.

There is lots of general enthusiasm from the group in making a substantive difference to education in Brazil. They have expressed an interest in the programs developed for science teachers at MUCEP (Macquarie University Centre for Ecostratigraphy and Palaeobiology). There is also interest in the educational activities for young children such as the “Extinctions are Forever” program for kids developed by Macquarie Museum Studies student Karina Ojong.

The small but interesting art show is also attracting a lot of attention. Delegates are voting for their favourite work. The winner of this democratic process will be announced tomorrow at the conference dinner. Some examples of the works are offered with today’s report.

 

---