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 Research Strength We have long been known for excellence in experimental ecology, from critical approaches to accepted paradigms to the development of new concepts. Recent faculty hires span the interface between ecology and evolution and have broadened our group to include all organismal aspects of population biology. Evolution Our traditional strength in evolution is in evolutionary ecology, including such areas as life history, plasticity, and mating systems. This focus is complemented by our active group in systematic and comparative biology including our most recent additions of Gavin Naylor, Peter Beerli, and Austin Mast. We also have faculty who who grapple with theoretical and genetic aspects of evolution including Thomas Hansen and David Houle. These strengths make Florida State an extremely exciting place to pursue studies of evolution at the level of the organism. Ecology Florida State University has long been at the forefront of ecology. Work on the role of competition and the niche done at FSU in the 1980’s changed the direction of ecology. Another tradition has been the melding of ideas from ecology and evolution. Our most recent addition to the group, Emily DuVal, complements these traditions with her work on the selective consequences of social behavior in birds. Several of our ecologists are marine biologists, in addition to a number of associate faculty in marine biology who reside at the FSU Coastal and Marine Laboratory. We also have a strong emphasis on conservation ecology, exemplified by the involvement of many faculty in management issues. Graduate Program In many graduate programs, students disappear behind the closed doors of their advisors' labs for five years. This is not the Florida State way. Instead we emphasize the importance of a broad background in all aspects of population biology to studies in either ecology or evolution. Mirroring our faculty, the graduate-student group is interactive, cohesive, and mutually supportive. Students usually share office space with those from different labs. Although students in our program pursue a flexible course of study with a minimal set of required courses, most do take the introductory sequence of four courses. These common experiences set the stage for interactions across disciplines that often continue long after students have left Florida State.
List of research habitats:
 Tallahassee is a pleasant, small city of 170,000, where two universities and the state government are the major employers. Off the main roads, Tallahassee is a city of trees—huge live oaks, magnolias, and cypresses dominate the look of our neighborhoods. |
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