Working to understand ecological systems and evolutionary change
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
In our department we value science and education grounded in the natural history of organisms, and strive to understand the patterns and processes that structure communities and ecosystems, and drive evolutionary change over all geographical and time scales. As new methods provide insight into ecological and evolutionary mechanism and function, we seek to refine fundamental concepts, integrate findings into novel theory, and address environmental challenges. As a department we are committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, justice and belonging - values that underlie all we do.
Bryce teaching the locals about hawks; the bird was handled carefully with appropriate permits, then released unharmed, back into the wild.
Research Spotlight
EEB grad student Bryce Robinson travels across much of the lower 48 states to study Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) in an attempt to gather extensive range-wide samples and uncover the evolutionary history of this highly diverse raptor. A common and widespread species, the Red-tailed Hawk represents an excellent opportunity to understand the evolution and maintenance of traits such as plumage polymorphism, both between and within populations. Bryce is a member of the team behind The Red-tailed Hawk Project, a research collaboration focused on the ecology and evolution ofthese birds.
EEB graduate student Ethan Duvall lead author in new study: The mutually beneficial relationship is described in “A Win-Win Between Farmers and an Apex Predator: Investigating the Relationship Between Bald Eagles and Dairy Farms,” which published March 10 in the journal Ecosphere.
EEB assistant professor Leslie Babonis et al., report: Single-cell atavism reveals an ancient mechanism of cell type diversification in the sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis when disabling a gene, called NvSox2 -- this causes a transition from a piercing cell, to a sticky, ensnaring cell.
EEB prof emerita Drew Harvell is among twelve Cornell faculty members elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society. Harvell was honored for distinguished contributions to the fields of ecology and oceanography, part...
EEB and MBG prof Andrew Clark's Lab and collaborators investigate the expression of genes related to the fruit fly circadian clock: The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help explain how this protein, called sex peptide, alters the female’s behavior.
Lovette Lab postdoc and co-author Benjamin Van Doren collaborates to develop new computer model: BirdFlow will predict migratory bird movement giving new insights into migration timing, stopover sites, response to climate change, and light pollution, as it learns the patterns and variations in movem...
Arts College team combines capabilities of the Cornell Tree-Ring Laboratory and the Cornell Stable Isotope Laboratory, to scrutinize samples from Ankara, Türkiye. This interdisciplinary collaboration used tree ring and isotope records to pinpoint a likely cause of the collapse of the Hittite Empire:...
New York’s Climate Action Council member Prof Howarth advises state senators in drafting the Climate Action Council Final Scoping Plan which will serve as the blueprint to implement the groundbreaking New York State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) – the state’s key environmen...