Unity and harmony are as much a part of Nancy Grimm's inner self as they are of her job. In fact, they are practically written into her job description. Balance not only represents her cosmopolitan outlook, but also defines the area she has chosen to study. Her specialty is the study of desert stream ecosytems. If you want to do a really good job, then you've got to know something about chemistry, and you've got to know something about geology and geomorphology, and you've got to know something about hydrology and about physical factors.
Ecology is relevant to virtually everything.
In contrast to aquatic systems found in forest or mountain regions, desert streams are regularly disrupted. Seasonal floods often sweep away much of the stream plants and animals. They are forced to regenerate and survive as the flood falls to a trickle and is eventually sucked into the cracks of a scorching summer drought. Until about 15 years ago, no one knew very much about desert streams, even though they occur over one third of the Earth's land surface. In 1979, Stuart Fisher, now Grimm's husband, moved to Arizona from Massachusetts to study the ecology of arid land streams.