Ecologists and evolutionary biologists seek to understand the origin and complex interactions of the earth's biodiversity and ecosystems. Our collective focus spans numerous levels of biological organization over multiple timescales including:

• genes
• individuals
• kin groups
• populations
• species
• communities
• ecosystems

   

  Studies in ecology and evolution strive to synthesize how these levels of organization are related to one another and what processes govern their interactions. Although the methods, background knowledge, and social context for such investigations have changed radically in recent decades, the fundamental questions about life remain, and their relevance to humans has increased.

   

• How did we get here?
• How does nature work?
• How will our role in nature change in the future?

  
  As we enter the 21st century, EEB is a thriving, fast-moving and vital branch of scientific enquiry. EEB research is currently undergoing a dynamic phase of intellectual growth, with the emergence of multiple new fields and novel opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.
  
  For instance, the explosion in genome-level information, when viewed from a comparative historical perspective, is greatly expanding our comprehension of ancient and contemporary evolutionary processes and history.
  
  Ongoing advances in computing power and analytical techniques give us new and powerful tools to interpret complex systems and to develop predictive models of ecological change.
  
  Coincident with these and other developments, human activity is leading to both the largest loss of species diversity in 65 million years and to a dramatic rise in atmospheric greenhouse gasses that threaten profound global climatic change.
  
  It is increasingly clear that, over the next few decades, humanity faces an overwhelming need for EEB expertise to mitigate these and other ecological crises.