Environmental biology is the study of relationships among populations, communities, species, and their surroundings. Students learn to use math to find patterns. They study connections between species. They also study the influence of the natural world on species.
Have you ever knocked over a row of dominos? Tipping just one domino sets off a reaction all the way down the line. Environmental biology looks at ecosystems as if they were dominos. Whatever happens to one organism or group of organisms can have a domino effect on other organisms.
In this program, you learn about interactions and relationships of living organisms. You study the taxonomy of plants and animals. You assess their habitats. You explore how air, soil, and water affect life. You investigate the effects of environmental processes on reproduction, development, and genetics. You learn about the impact of pollution and industrialization on species.
Although you spend some time doing fieldwork, you also spend time analyzing data. You try to establish correlations between actions and effects on the environment. You may also spend time writing environmental impact statements and interacting with the public and other scientists.
Your studies prepare you to address some of the significant problems related to human impact on the environment.
Some community colleges offer a two-year program in environmental biology. With this preparation, you can work as a field crewmember, technical assistant, or lab technician.
About 85 colleges in the U.S. offer a bachelor's degree program. This takes four years of full-time study beyond high school. With a bachelor's degree, you can work in some entry-level positions for government agencies or environmental consulting firms.
Senior positions, particularly those in research, require at least a master's degree. A master's degree may take up to six years beyond high school to complete. A Ph.D. in environmental biology may take an additional two to three years. About 20 universities offer a graduate program in environmental biology.
Graduate students usually choose to focus on a specific branch of environmental biology. Some specializations include:
• Aquatic Ecology
• Ecotoxicology
• Terrestrial Ecology