Similarly, very different processes may underlie the genesis of diversity in populations, evolutionary lineages, or ecological communities, but all of these levels of organization are of interest to environmental biologists. Not uncommonly, trainees and faculty at the Center for Population Biology help each other design and carry out field experiments. Here, saltgrass seedlings are being transplanted back into the Tomales Bay salt marsh. The faculty members of the Center for Population Biology feel that our program offers graduate students a unique opportunity to receive the rigorous training they need to become leading scientists in population-level approaches to environmental biology. In recognition of the superb Ph.D. program that we are developing, the National Science Foundation awarded the Center for Population Biology a five-year graduate research training grant in Environmental Biology.
Students re-apply for traineeship support each year.
Traineeship support in the first year gives students the extra time they need to succeed in our rigorous core course. Traineeship support in later years makes it possible for our trainees to pursue research programs abroad. Eligibility for Graduate Research Support Grants through the Center for Population Biology. Funding recommendations are based on the student's research proposal, pertinence of the research to environmental biology, and a recommendation from the relevant faculty trainer. Students play a primary role in designing these elements of the curriculum.