The Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology provides interdepartmental training for MS and PhD students in ecology, organismal and evolutionary biology. Graduate students, post-docs, and faculty study biological processes ranging from the molecular to the ecosystem level, often bridging the gap between basic and applied research. Our faculty and students conduct research in four broad areas:

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Celebrating 150 years of evolution

In honor of the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, OEB is planning a day long celebration on Friday, December 11. The capstone event is a presentation by noted science writer Carl Zimmer.

Zimmer's talk, Darwin Gets Swine Flu: Celebrating the Origin of Species in an Age of Pandemics, will take place at 5:00 p.m. on December 11 in the Integrated Sciences Building Auditorium.

Zimmer is well known for his popular science writing, particularly his work on evolution. He has published seven books, including Evolution: Triumph of an Idea and At the Water's Edge. His latest book, The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution, has been praised by E.O. Wilson as the best written and best illustrated introduction to evolution in the last decade. In addition to frequent contributions to the New York Times, National Geographic, Discover, Science and Popular Science, Zimmer also maintains an award-winning blog, The Loom.

Santana and Dumont's work featured on Evolutionary Biology's cover

The work of OEB PhD candidate Sharlene Santana and her advisor, Betsy Dumont, is featured on the latest cover of the Journal of Evolutionary Biology. Their paper, Connecting behaviour and performance: the evolution of biting behaviour and bite performance in bats is in the November 2009 issue.

Admissions and Finding a Faculty Sponsor

The deadline for applying to OEB for Fall 2010 is December 1. Acceptance into OEB is dependent upon meeting academic standards, finding faculty sponsorship and securing funding. Check our Admissions page for details on the application process. OEB faculty who have expressed an interest in taking a new student for the next academic year are listed here. Other faculty may be interested if just the right student comes along.

Ted Stankowich's work featured in Nature

The reason some female hoofed animals have horns while others do not has long puzzled evolutionary biologists, even the great Charles Darwin. But now a survey of 117 bovid species led by Ted Stankowich, former Darwin Fellow and lecturer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, suggests an answer: Females that can’t readily hide in protective cover and those who must defend a feeding territory are more likely to have horns than those who live in protective habitat or don’t defend a territory. The work, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, was highlighted in the 24 September 2009 issue of Nature.

OEB Ecology Core Course

The first meeting of OEB Ecology Core Course (Org&EvBi 790E) is Tuesday, September 8 at 1:00 p.m. in the OEB Seminar Room (319 Morrill). Details are posted on the course website. PDFs of the readings for the first class can be found their under Readings in the Navigation Tree in the right column.

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