Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (Graduate Field)
Field Description
The Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology offers students rich opportunities to study organic diversity, including its origins, maintenance, and consequences. The program provides broad exposure to concepts and research approaches in ecology and evolution, alongside in-depth study in one or more subdisciplines. Students pursue research questions that address fundamental issues in basic and applied sciences, spanning a wide range of spatial and temporal scales and employing experimental, observational, theoretical, statistical, molecular, and chemical approaches. Some students focus on Discipline-Based Education Research to develop evidence-based knowledge and practices to improve STEM education.
Each student’s course of study is tailored to their individual goals and interests. The program emphasizes broad, integrative thinking and encourages students to be both interdisciplinary and independent. It is particularly well suited to those who can take full advantage of Cornell’s expansive intellectual and technological resources in the life sciences and related fields.
Excellent laboratory and nearby field facilities are available, along with extensive collections and libraries.
Inquiries from prospective graduate students are welcomed and should be addressed to the graduate field office or to any member of the faculty.
*The field does not usually admit students for a terminal M.S. degree.
Data and Statistics
Field Manual
Subject and Degrees
Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Concentrations by Subject
Ecology
- animal ecology
- applied ecology
- biogeochemistry
- community and ecosystem ecology
- limnology
- oceanography
- physiological ecology
- plant ecology
- population ecology
- theoretical ecology
- vertebrate zoology
Evolutionary Biology
- ecological genetics
- paleobiology
- population biology
- systematics
Faculty
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: community and ecosystem ecology; plant ecology; population ecology; Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics; population biology
- Research Interests: plant-animal interactions, evolutionary and community ecology of plant-insect interactions
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics; systematics; Ecology: physiological ecology; vertebrate zoology
- Research Interests: EvoDevo, genomics, novelty, marine invertebrates
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics; population biology; Ecology: physiological ecology; vertebrate zoology
- Research Interests: evolutionary physiology; mammalogy; evolutionary genetics and genomics; functional genomics; adaptive evolution
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Evolutionary Biology: paleobiology; systematics; Ecology: vertebrate zoology
- Research Interests: evolutionary biology of fossil and living fishes
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics; population biology; Ecology: theoretical ecology
- Research Interests: molecular population genetics; theoretical and statistical population genetics; evolutionary genomics; genetics of complex traits
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: animal ecology; Evolutionary Biology: paleobiology; systematics
- Research Interests: phylogeny; systematics; evolutionary biology; insects; bee biology
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics; population biology
- Research Interests: evolutionary and comparative genomics, gene regulation, transcription, bioinformatics, functional genomics
- Campus: Ithaca - (Minor Member)
- Concentrations: Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics; systematics; Ecology: vertebrate zoology
- Research Interests: systematics, ichthyology, evolution, biogeography, natural history
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: applied ecology; biogeochemistry; community and ecosystem ecology
- Research Interests: agroecosystem biogeochemistry; plant-microbial interactions; agroecology; Global N cycle
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: applied ecology; theoretical ecology; Evolutionary Biology: population biology
- Research Interests: theoretical population biology and evolutionary ecology; ecological modeling
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: animal ecology; community and ecosystem ecology; limnology
- Research Interests: animal ecology; community and ecosystem ecology; limnology
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: biogeochemistry; limnology
- Research Interests: Biogeochemistry, contaminant fate and transport, ecosystem ecology
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: biogeochemistry; community and ecosystem ecology
- Research Interests: forest biogeochemistry; land-use change; carbon and nitrogen cycling at various scales
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: animal ecology; population ecology
- Research Interests: Polymorphism, rapid evolution, behavioral ecology, sexual selection
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Evolutionary Biology: population biology; Ecology: population ecology; theoretical ecology
- Research Interests: life history evolution, malaria, disease, transmission, epidemiology, population dynamics
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics; population biology
- Research Interests: population genetics; phylogeography; invasion biology; host-parasite co-evolution
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: animal ecology; applied ecology; community and ecosystem ecology; oceanography; population ecology; theoretical ecology; Evolutionary Biology: population biology
- Research Interests: Theoretical biology, computational ecology, ethology and collective behavior, mathematical modeling, machine learning and inferential methods in biology
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: animal ecology; applied ecology; Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics; systematics
- Research Interests: Bacterial genomics, evolution, host-microbe interactions, symbiosis, host-pathogen interactions
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: biogeochemistry; community and ecosystem ecology; oceanography
- Research Interests: pelagic marine ecology; microbial and viral ecology; ecological genomics and community transcriptomics; ocean biogeochemistry
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: animal ecology; applied ecology; biogeochemistry; community and ecosystem ecology; limnology
- Research Interests: freshwater ecology, ponds and lakes, food webs, community ecology, ecosystem ecology, greenhouse gases, conservation, amphibians
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: applied ecology; biogeochemistry; community and ecosystem ecology
- Research Interests: Global biogeochemical cycles: climate change; gene to biosphere relationships; coupled human-environmental systems; computational modeling; natural isotope abundance; data analytics and synthesis
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: applied ecology; biogeochemistry; community and ecosystem ecology; limnology; oceanography
- Research Interests: aquatic ecosystem biology, watershed science; and environmental management
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: applied ecology; community and ecosystem ecology; physiological ecology; plant ecology
- Research Interests: molecular and chemical ecology; plant-insect interactions; multitrophic interactions; insect herbivore-induced plant responses to herbivory; mechanisms and ecological consequences
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics; population biology; systematics; Ecology: population ecology; theoretical ecology
- Research Interests: Population genetics, Evolutionary biology, Phylodynamics, Eco-evolutionary dynamics
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics; population biology
- Research Interests: evolutionary genetic of post-pathogen interactions in insects
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: animal ecology; applied ecology; community and ecosystem ecology; limnology; plant ecology; vertebrate zoology; Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics; population biology
- Research Interests: aquatic ecology, including freshwaters and marine coastal environments; ecology and evolution of invasive species; eDNA-based monitoring and surveillance of rare species; bioeconomics; science-management-policy
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: animal ecology; biogeochemistry; community and ecosystem ecology; limnology; population ecology; theoretical ecology; Evolutionary Biology: population biology
- Research Interests: Eco-evolutionary dynamics, rapid evolution, life-history evolution, nutrient cycling, dispersal and invasion, ecological statistics
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics; population biology; systematics; Ecology: vertebrate zoology
- Research Interests: ecological genetics; population biology; systematics
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: animal ecology; applied ecology; biogeochemistry; community and ecosystem ecology; limnology; physiological ecology; vertebrate zoology
- Research Interests: freshwater conservation, freshwater landscape ecology, limnology, climate change, fish and fisheries, food webs, aquatic biogeochemistry, biodiversity
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics; population biology; Ecology: population ecology; theoretical ecology
- Research Interests: Interested in a broad range of topics in evolutionary biology and population genetics. A particular focus of the lab lies in studying cases of rapid adaptation that allow us to observe evolution in real-time and sometimes even repeatedly.
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: animal ecology; Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics; population biology; systematics
- Research Interests: Ecology and evolution of symbiosis; macroevolution; social insect evolution; host-microbe interactions; speciation and evolutionary diversification; evolution of gut microbiota; biogeography; phylogenetics/ phylogenomics; molecular clocks and divergence dating; biodiversity genomics; ant-plant mutualisms; entomology; comparative biology; microbiomes.
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: animal ecology; physiological ecology; population ecology
- Research Interests: Disease ecology, life history, ecoimmunology, ecophysiology, host-parasite interactions, vector-borne disease transmission and control, urban ecology, climate change, land use change
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: animal ecology; applied ecology; population ecology; Evolutionary Biology: population biology
- Research Interests: wildlife health & conservation, one health, planetary health, biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, rural development, science policy
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: animal ecology; applied ecology; community and ecosystem ecology; population ecology; vertebrate zoology; Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics; population biology
- Research Interests: Bird behavior, ecology, evolution and conservation; large-scale patterns in biodiversity; evolution in wild populations; public engagement with nature and science
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: applied ecology; community and ecosystem ecology; population ecology
- Research Interests: agricultural ecology; ecology of cropping systems and epidemiology of insect-vectored diseases
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: animal ecology; community and ecosystem ecology; physiological ecology; plant ecology
- Research Interests: chemical ecology; plant reproductive ecology; the evolution of mutualism and deception; pollination ecology; evolution of communication
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics
- Research Interests: evolutionary developmental biology; functional genomics; gene regulation; adaptation; color pattern evolution
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics; population biology; systematics
- Research Interests: evolutionary biology; sexual selection; speciation; evolutionary genetics and genomics
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: applied ecology; population ecology; Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics; population biology
- Research Interests: discipline-based science education research, biology education research
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: biogeochemistry; community and ecosystem ecology; physiological ecology; plant ecology
- Research Interests: biogeochemistry, community, and ecosystem ecology; physiological ecology; plant ecology
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics; paleobiology; population biology; systematics; Ecology: physiological ecology; population ecology
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: applied ecology; population ecology
- Research Interests: insect-plant interactions, chemical ecology, tritrophic interactions
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: applied ecology; oceanography; population ecology; Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics; population biology
- Research Interests: population and evolutionary genomics, rapid adaptation, fisheries, conservation
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: animal ecology; physiological ecology; population ecology; vertebrate zoology
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: applied ecology; biogeochemistry
- Research Interests: Ecohydrology, terrestrial biogeochemistry, environmental biophysics, pollutant fate-transport, water-climate change, modeling
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Evolutionary Biology: ecological genetics; population biology
- Research Interests: function and evolution of reproductive genes, with major focus on seminal proteins and egg-activation in insects
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: animal ecology; physiological ecology; vertebrate zoology
- Research Interests: Evolution, Morphology, Development, Sensory Ecology
- Campus: Ithaca
- Concentrations: Ecology: biogeochemistry; community and ecosystem ecology; plant ecology; theoretical ecology
- Research Interests: ecological modeling/forecasting, ecological remote sensing, plant functional ecology, global change biology, terrestrial ecosystem ecology