Research that Matters

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB)

Within the UCI BioSci foundational theme of MIND | BODY | WORLD, EEB focuses on the WORLD and how the MIND and BODY are embedded in this context. Our department studies the molecular basis of how organisms adapt to the natural world over evolutionary time, and how the resultant biological diversity in organismal function affects present-day ecological processes. Accordingly, faculty in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology study questions pertinent at a variety of levels of biological organization, from molecular aspects of evolution to organismal physiology and the ecology of terrestrial, freshwater and ocean ecosystems.

We Give It Our Best Zot!

Our Students Make A Difference

At UCI, we believe in the infinitely curious. Our students are the tinkerers, the dreamers, and the courageous of thought. They are inspiring, motivated, and care about the world around them. And they aren’t afraid to fail, because they dare to go where others won’t. If this sounds a lot like you, then you need to be here making a difference too. You’ll fit in just by being you.
164 T.Huxman

Travis E. Huxman, Ph.D.

Professor and Chair

Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

949-824-2594

A Message From the Department Chair

In the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology we study life in all its expressions, past complexes, and future states. Our members teach, learn, and create knowledge about plants, animals, microbes, clades, communities, ecosystems, biomes, and biospheres to know how our world works and to understand its likely future. We employ field experiments, laboratory studies, computational modeling, and theory to disciplines spanning comparative genomics, comparative physiology, biodiversity, biogeochemistry, and coupled human-natural systems.

We live and work in a beautiful and interesting place, rich with opportunity for studying life. Southern California encompasses high biological, geomorphological, socio-economic, and environmental diversity, which makes it a wonderful setting for modern biological pursuits. The close proximity of field stations and study sites, from marine and terrestrial settings, spanning deserts to mountains is a real opportunity for students and scholars with broad interests. We hold close relationships with agencies, partners, and programs invested in this region, which presents opportunities for our department to carry out research with real impact.

Please visit the web pages of our faculty and graduate students. You’ll find that they integrate research on important topics, such as global change, disease, aging, and pollution with collaborations from across campus and across the world. We believe that ecology, evolution, and functional biology make the essential foundation for understanding all aspects of biology.  As such, our faculty, staff, and students bridge the scholarship happening in many other Departments, such as Neurobiology, Cell and Development, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Earth System Sciences, Chemistry, Pharmacological Sciences, Mathematics, Social Ecology, Anthropology, among others.