Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology

The ecology, evolution and organismal biology section of biological sciences studies all aspects of life, from molecules to organisms to ecosystems.

Research focus areas includes habitat loss in coral reef systems caused by climate change; molecular phylogenetics; diversity of flowering plants and responses to changing environments; ecology of temperate forests; invasive species biology; plant-animal interactions; ecosystem ecology; population and community ecology across environmental gradients; and the relationships between evolution and development including behaviors, the genomic basis of traits and characters, vertebrate musculoskeletal biomechanics and evolution, macroevolution of vertebrate phenotypic diversity, and the role of natural selection in shaping the molecular and morphological diversity we observe in plants and animals.

Facilities supporting this work include the Clemson Experimental Forest, the largest on campus forest in the United States; the Clemson University Bioinformatics and Genomics Facility; the Palmetto Computing Cluster; the Multi-User Analytical Laboratory; the Bob & Betsy Campbell Museum of Natural History; the South Carolina Botanical Garden; and various field stations.

Clemson EEOB faculty have received funding from NSF, NIH, USDA, USFS, and other public and private funding agencies. Our mission is to train students in basic and applied research in ecology, evolution and organismal biology in order to further understand how the earth developed the ecological diversity and adaptations we observe today and how to best conserve it. The Department of Biological Sciences offers EEOB students B.A., B.S., M.S, or Ph.D. degrees.