Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology

Welcome

Welcome to the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology (EEOB) at Iowa State University.

EEOB has many active research programs and opportunities for student interest in conservation biology, ecological and evolutionary genomics, population, community, and ecosystem ecology, quantitative genetics, and other traditional organismal disciplines such as taxonomy. 

Faculty in EEOB are linked through students and research programs to many other departments within the life sciences, as well as to supporting disciplines in the physical and computational sciences.  The diverse knowledge of the EEOB faculty provides unique opportunities for undergraduate students majoring in Biology, Genetics, and Environmental Science, to whom we offer a rich and cutting-edge curriculum.

If you have any questions about programs or opportunities in EEOB, please contact us at 515-294-0133.  We look forward to serving you.

Graduate Student Spotlight

PhD student Kayal samples sponges on the reefs of Bocas del Toro, Panama

The difficulty when working with marine organisms so far from the sea is obviously the access to good samples. Although it is possible to obtain collected tissues from collaborators and collections, they do not replace fresh specimens. One main focus in the Lavrov lab is marine sponges. Thus, the lab often relies on colleagues to provide the samples needed. In the framework of the Porifera Tree of Life Project sponsored by NSF, as a part of their Assembling the Tree of Life initiative, Ehsan Kayal and Dr. Dennis Lavrov recently flew to an oasis of sponge diversity on the Caribbean coastline of Panama for a coordinated effort in sponge sampling. The two brought back samples for more than 40 new species of sponges and the lab will be busy sequencing their mitochondrial genomes for the rest of the year.

News & Updates

Crumpton interviewed for Iowa Journal

Nancy Crowfoot, of IPTV's Iowa Journal, interviewed Dr. William Crumpton regarding on Iowa water quality performance of restored wetlands.

Press Release

Predators Return to Iowa

Research by Dr. William Clark, in collaboration with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, on the return of the bobcat can be found in the current issue of Iowa Farm and Ranch.

Full Article

Dr. Jonathan Wendel honored for Outstanding Achievement in Departmental Leadership

The Outstanding Achievement in Departmental Leadership Award recognizes department chairs who have demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities in advancing the faculty, staff, students and programs in their departments.

Full Article

EEOB welcomes Dr. Karen Abbott as newest faculty member

Dr. Abbott's research uses population dynamic models of interacting species to explore possible causes for why species occur where they do, and what makes their abundances fluctuate over time.

To Learn More about Dr. Karen Abbott

EEOB graduate, Jeramie Strickland, attends the MANRRS 24th Annual Career Fair and Training Conference

Jeramie has personally benefited from attending previous Minorities in Agriculture and Natural Resources and Related Sciences conferences both academically and professionally.  Previous MANRRS endeavors have helped open doors for Jeramie through graduate assistantships with ISU, internships with Michigan State University, Purdue University, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource and Conservation Service, employment opportunities with ESA/SEEDS, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

Full Article

Self assessment: ISU ADVANCE heads into fourth of five years

ADVANCE, an initiative sponsored by the National Science Foundation, is about increasing the numbers as well as the promotion of women faculty in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields in higher education. Next month, Iowa State begins the fourth year of a five-year, $3.3 million NSF grant to address the challenge. Inside talked with associate provost and principal investigator Susan Carlson and ISU ADVANCE executive director Bonnie Bowen about what's been accomplished and what's still ahead.

Full Article