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Graduate Interdisciplinary Specializations

These graduate specializations offer graduate students the opportunity to complete a course of study utilizing courses and faculty from several different fields. Participants must apply for admission and must also be admitted to a ‘regular’ graduate program.

Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology

2538 McCarthy Mall-Snyder 407
Honolulu, HI 96822
Tel (808) 956-4602
Fax: (808) 956-4707
E-mail: eecb@hawaii.edu
Web: www.hawaii.edu/eecb/

Graduate Faculty

**Emeritus Faculty

R. A. Kinzie, PhD (Chair)—aquatic ecology, coral reefs and tropical streams
L. Arita-Tsutsumi, PhD—behavioral ecology of insects
W. W. Au, PhD—acoustics of marine animals
C. Birkeland, PhD—coral reef ecology and management, marine community ecology
B. Bowen, PhD—phylogeography, evolution and conservation, genetics of marine vertebrates
R. L. Cann, PhD—conservation genetics and molecular evolution
D. Carlon, PhD—population regulation, life-history evolution and speciation
S. Conant, PhD—conservation biology, life history and ecology of Hawaiian birds
R. H. Cowie, PhD—evolutionary biology and conservation of land and freshwater snails
C. C. Daehler, PhD—invasive plants, plant-insect interactions
H. G. de Couet, PhD—developmental and molecular evolution
M. J. deMaintenon, PhD—evolution of gastropod organogenetic patterns
D. Drake, PhD—plant ecology, conservation biology, plant-animal interactions
D. C. Duffy, PhD—conservation biology (basic and applied)
N. L. Etkin, PhD—medicines of the “informal sector” in contemporary Hawai‘i
J. Fragoso, PhD—ecology of tropical animals, plants and ecosystems
L. A. Freed, PhD—evolutionary ecology, behavioral ecology and conservation biology
E. Gaidos, PhD—microbial ecology, modeling of ecological and molecular ecolution
M. G. Hadfield, PhD—larval biology of marine invertebrates, conservation and demography of Hawaiian tree snails
D. Haymer, PhD—molecular evolution
T. Hunt, PhD—evolutionary theory, including ecology and biogeography
T. Idol, PhD—forest soils and nutrient cycling
K. Y. Kaneshiro, PhD—sexual selection and biology of small populations
S. C. Keeley, PhD—plant molecular systematics and evolution
E. Laws, PhD—phytoplankton, physiology, issues related to climate change and water pollution
T. W. Lyttle, PhD—population genetics and chromosome evolution
M. Q. Martindale, PhD—evolution of development of metazoan animals
W. J. Mautz, PhD—environmental physiology, environmental toxicology, ecological energetics, respiration physiology, and herpetology
W. C. McClatchey, PhD—the flora, ethnobotany and prehistory of the Solomon Islands and the Rotuma Islands
M. D. Merlin, PhD—biogeography, ethnobotany, Pacific natural history
R. H. Messing, PhD—behavioral ecology of insect parasitoids and biological control
C. W. Morden, PhD—molecular systematics and evolution of plants and algae
**D. Mueller-Dombois, PhD—vegetation ecology
R. Ostertag, PhD—community structure and nutrient dynamics of tropical forests
J. D. Parrish, PhD—ecology of aquatic (marine) communities, fishery biology
D. K. Price, PhD—evolutionary genetics of behaviors
M. A. Ridgley, PhD—human-environment systems analysis: modeling and evaluation of society-environment interactions
D. Rubinoff, PhD—insect systematics, conservation biology, and the evolution of ecological traits
L. Sack, PhD—whole-plant physiology and ecology
C. M. Smith, PhD—physiological ecology of marine macrophytes, marine ecology
L. E. Sponsel, PhD—human ecology in tropical forests and deforestation
J. S. Stimson, PhD—population ecology
K. Suryanata, PhD—political economy of natural resources
A. D. Taylor, PhD—population ecology
A. Teramura, PhD—environmental stress physiology, global climate change, ecosystem analysis and biodiversity
T. Ticktin, PhD—ethnoecology and conservation
R. Toonen, PhD—population biology and larval ecology of marine invertebrates
T. Tricas, PhD—behavior and sensory biology of sharks, rays and reef fishes
L. Wester, PhD—plant geography, biogeography of islands, human-plant relationships
A. Wikramanayake, PhD—evolution of pattern formation in metazoan embryos
B. A. Wilcox, PhD—natural resource management, ecology of infectious diseases
C. Womersley, PhD—environmental physiology, biochemical adaptation, parasitology

Affiliate Graduate Faculty

A. Allison, PhD—systematics and population biology
A. Asquith, PhD—insect systematics and conservation
W. W. Au, PhD—sensory biology of cetaceans
L. V. Basch, PhD—ecology, evolution and conservation of marine life histories and benthic communities
E. W. Campbell III, PhD—applied and basic herpetology, invasive species management, conservation biology, predator ecology
J. E. Canfield, PhD—conservation biology of silverswords and vegetation restoration
J. Denslow, PhD—ecology of invasive exotic species in tropical forests
N. L. Evenhuis, PhD—systematics and evolution of Diptera
D. Foote, PhD—ecology and conservation of native Hawaiian insects
A. M. Friedlander, PhD—nearshore fisheries
B. S. Holland, PhD—molecular ecology, systematics and conservation genetics
F. G. Howarth, PhD—evolutionary biology of cave ecosystems and insect conservation
F. Kraus, PhD—evolution and conservation of insular faunas, reptiles, amphibians and land snails
L. L. Loope, PhD—conservation biology, plant ecology
J. E. Maragos, PhD—human impact on marine ecosystems and coral reefs
D. Ragone, PhD—Pacific Island ethnobotany, especially conservation and use of traditional crops, focusing on breadfruit

The Academic Program

The objectives of the interdisciplinary graduate specialization in ecology, evolution, and conservation biology (EECB) are to:

• Use the unique opportunities that Hawai‘i offers to integrate tropical population biology and natural history studies with modern laboratory techniques;
• Provide the interdisciplinary, conceptual, and technical training that will allow our graduates to participate in academic and research programs in ecology, evolution, and conservation biology; and
• Foster scholarly training in research programs involving expertise in ecology, evolution, and conservation biology.

Modern theories of ecology, evolution, and conservation biology share a core of concepts and techniques that span classical academic disciplines. This common core, coupled with the emergence of powerful new technologies, invites cross-disciplinary approaches, which generate many of today’s most exciting scientific advances.

The EECB program provides opportunities for students at UH Manoa to expand their knowledge and gain experience in this integrative discipline. Our interdisciplinary graduate program brings together faculty members from agronomy and soil science, anthropology, biomedical sciences (genetics and molecular biology), botanical sciences, entomology, geography, horticulture, microbiology, oceanography, and zoology – with all their skills and technologies – to provide the training students need to contribute effectively to this research area.

EECB is implemented as a “specialization” within existing graduate programs of the departments whose faculty participate in this program. This means that the primary duties and responsibilities of each EECB student are to satisfy the requirements of their own home academic department. The EECB specialization serves to allow students to expand beyond the traditional departmental boundaries in terms of formulating research questions, choosing thesis/dissertation committee members and taking academic courses. EECB graduate students can be enrolled in either the doctor of philosophy or master of science degree in their home department.

Students accepted to the EECB graduate specialization must already have been accepted into the graduate program of the various departments participating in the EECB program. Course work in statistics, organic chemistry, biochemistry, genetics, evolution and ecology are considered most important for admission into the EECB program.

Details on the EECB program and application forms can be found at the EECB website www.hawaii.edu/eecb/.

Admission Requirements

Only students who have been accepted to a graduate program in one of the academic departments at UH Manoa can be accepted to the EECB program. Regardless of department admission deadlines, the EECB program deadline is February 1 for the fall semester.

Applicants must submit the application, GRE’s, transcripts and letters of recommendation to the academic department to which they are applying. EECB applicants must write “EECB” in box 6 of the application where it specifies “area of specialization” and follow the directions for submitting the application to the UH Graduate Division.

The EECB application consists of a letter expressing interest in EECB and a copy of your complete UH Manoa graduate application materials. Copies of the application should be sent to the EECB program office at the above address. Copies (can be unofficial) of letters of recommendation, transcripts and GRE scores should also be sent to the EECB office. Failure to send the copies may cause delays in processing your EECB application.

Applicants to the EECB program must have a faculty sponsor to be considered for admission to the EECB program. Begin by reviewing the Faculty section of this website and contacting faculty members whose interests are similar to yours.

Course Requirements for Specialization in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology

Course requirements for ALL EECB graduate students:

• Complete all degree requirements of the home academic department
• Participate in EECB activities, particularly the “Evolunch” seminar series
• One course in ecology at the 600 or 700 level (at least 2 credits with an A or B grade)
• One course in evolution at the 600 or 700 level (at least 2 credits with an A or B grade)
• One course in conservation biology at the 600 or 700 level (at least 2 credits with an A or B grade)

Acceptable graduate (600-700 level) courses currently being offered are listed below. Because some offerings change from semester to semester, consult the EECB webpage for an updated list.

In addition to course requirements for the specialization in EECB, each academic department has its own course requirements. Courses from the EECB course list that are taken to fulfill departmental requirements can also be used to fulfill EECB requirements, however, a single course can only satisfy one of the three EECB requirements.

Course Offerings

(Updated September 2005)

(New courses or one-time offerings not listed here but approved by the EECB curriculum committee may also count towards the Ecology, Evolution or Conservation Biology requirement. Please check with the EECB website and consult with the Graduate Education Committee.)

Ecology

• ANTH 606 Anthropology of Infectious Disease (3)
• BOT 644 Ethnoecological Methods (3)
• BOT 650 Ecology Seminar (2)
• BOT 651 Invasion Biology (3)
• BOT/ZOOL 652 Population Biology (3)
• PEPS 671 Insect Ecology (3)
• MICR 680 Advances in Microbial Ecology (3)
• NREM 680 Forest/Agroforest Ecosystem Analysis (3)
• OCN 626 Marine Microplankton Ecology
• OCN 627 Ecology of Pelagic Marine Animals (3)
• OCN 628 Benthic Biological Oceanography
• ZOOL 606 Principles of Animal Behavior (2)
• ZOOL 606L Principles of Animal Behavior Lab (1)
• ZOOL 620 Marine Ecology (3)
• ZOOL 621 Evolutionary Ecology (4)
• ZOOL 623 Quantitative Field Ecology (3)

Evolution

• ANTH 604 Physical Anthropology (3)
• BOT 661 Hawaiian Vascular Plants (3)
• BOT 662 Advanced Systematics (4)
• BOT 669 Molecular Systematics and Evolution (3)
• PEPS 633 Insect Genetics (3)
• PEPS 662 Systematics and Phylogenetics (3)
• CMB 604 Evolutionary Genetics (2)
• CMB 625 Advanced Topics in Genetics (2)
• CMB 650 Population Genetics (3)
• CMB 680 Molecular Genetics (3)
• MICR 671 Bacterial Genetics (3)
• TPSS 615 Quantitative Genetics (3)
• ZOOL 606 Principles of Animal Behavior (2)
• ZOOL 606L Principles of Animal Behavior Lab (1)
• ZOOL 621 Evolutionary Ecology (4)
• ZOOL 719 Topics in Systematics & Evolution (V)

Conservation Biology

• ANTH 620 Theory in Social and Cultural Anthropology (3)
• BOT 651 Invasion Biology (3)
• BOT/ZOOL 690 Conservation Biology (3)
• PEPS 675/675L Biological Control (3)
• GEOG 752 Research Seminar: Resource Management (3)
• GEOG 758 Research Seminar: Conservation (3)
• OCN 621 Biological Oceanography (3)
• ZOO 750 Topics in Conservation Biology (3)
• TCBES 600 (UH Hilo) Principles of Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science

Content Varies (but may be count towards a specific area, depending the topic)

• BOT 612 Seed Ecology (V)
• BOT 612 Restoration of Manoa Valley (V)
• BOT 612 Plants, Animals and Islands (V)
• BOT 654 Pollination Ecology (3)
• GEOG 750 Research Seminar: Biogeography (3)
• ZOOL 714 Topics in Animal Behavior (V)