Ecology and Environmental Science Division

The Ecology and Environmental Biology Division of the Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology comprises a diverse group of internationally renown investigators.  Our research extends from mechanisms of ecological processes to applied conservation work and paleontology.  Taxonomic foci run from phytoplankton to plants and animals.  We use methods that mix fieldwork, laboratory experiments, and mathematical models.  Projects include population biology of sea turtles and terrapins; the ecology of disappearing tropic amphibians; stable isotopic analyses of diet, behavior, and ecology; physiological constraints on habitat use of woodland breeding amphibians and desert reptiles; the distribution, phenology and habitat use of species in disturbed habitats, and the paleobiology and paleoecology of sauropod dinosaurs.  Common characteristics of ecological projects are: attention to the effects of abiotic and physiological constraints on activity and distribution, pervasive interest in the how such effects influence the population ecology of organisms, and a frequent focus on the conservation implications of the project.  The members of the Division collaborate extensively both within the department and around the globe on projects of local, national, and international scale.

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