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Department of
Environmental Biology

ESF Home > Environmental Biology

Environmental biology students are exposed to concepts of biodiversity conservation, physiology, and ecology of plants, animals, and microorganisms. We study and emphasize the interactions and changes in biological systems in the context of many different fields including aquatic and wetland sciences, biotechnology, fisheries and wildlife biology, forest health and global ecology.

 
Stephen Teale, Ph.D.

Meet the Chair

Dr. Stephen Teale

"From molecules to ecosystems, Environmental Biology is the fusion of basic science and applied ecology. Our students and faculty are actively engaged in addressing threats to the integrity of our ecosystems including invasive species, habitat loss, and climate change. Our students learn about the diversity of the earth’s plants, animals, fungi, and microbes while simultaneously learning how to protect them."

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Undergraduate Degree Programs

EB offers six undergraduate majors. Environmental Biology is the broadest major and the degree program to which most students apply. The other five are specialized and recommended for students with more focused educational goals. They are Aquatic and Fisheries Science, Biotechnology, Conservation Biology, Forest Health, and Wildlife Science. In general, the first year requirements of these programs are similar and internal transfer among them is straightforward.

Aquatic and Fisheries Science

Work to conserve and restore biodiversity, habitats, and ecological function of our most precious ecosystems.

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Students in a canoe and one student wading in a stream with net.

Biotechnology

Employing products or services of biological systems, organisms, cells and/or molecules to benefit humans, society, and our planet.

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Students working in a laboratory.

Conservation Biology

Conserve the earth’s imperiled species and ecosystems.

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Photo of a tortoise.

Environmental Biology

A broad biology major with electives covering topics from molecules to ecosystems to regional landscapes.

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Student working with plant specimens in a laboratory.

Forest Health

Forest health experts support healthy forests by managing threats caused by invasive species, poor management, climate change, fire, and other anthropogenic factors.

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Two students working on a forest floor.

Wildlife Science

Gain ecological knowledge in a manner that strikes a balance between the needs of wildlife populations and the needs of people.

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Forest landscape with buck in foreground and mountains in distance.

Learn more about our undergraduate programs

Facilities and Research in Environmental Biology