School of Earth & Sustainability
Ecology & Conservation
SES faculty lead research programs investigating biodiversity, ecosystem function, the ecological impacts of human activities, and strategies for ecosystem conservation and management. Our research spans local, landscape, and global scales, and natural and managed terrestrial and aquatic systems. Often collaborating across disciplines and between academic, government, and non-profit sectors, we examine ecological, cultural, and political dimensions of conservation planning.
Who we are
Faculty and research staff Accordion Open
- R. Scott Anderson, Professor (Paleoecology)
- Clare Aslan, Associate Professor (Community ecology, conservation biology, Landscape Conservation Initiative)
- Rebecca Best, Assistant Professor (Aquatic ecology and evolution)
- Brett Dickson, Associate Professor (Conservation biology, landscape and wildlife ecology, statistical ecology, Landscape Conservation Initiative)
- Laura Huenneke, Emeritus Professor (Plant ecology and conservation)
- Nancy Johnson, Regents Professor (Soil ecology, ecosystem ecology, microbial ecology, mycorrhizas)
- Rachel Mitchell, Assistant Professor (Plant functional ecology)
- Erika Nowak, Assistant Research Professor (Herpetology and conservation)
- Buck Sanford, Professor (Biogeochemistry, soil ecology)
- Teki Sankey, Associate Professor (Remote sensing and geoinformatics)
- Sara Souther, Assistant Research Professor (Population biology, plant ecology, conservation biology, Landscape Conservation Initiative)
Collaborators Accordion Closed
At NAU
- Many faculty in this area collaborate across NAU with faculty in Biology, Forestry, and the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems
Outside NAU
For students
Degree programs Accordion Open
- Bachelor’s degrees (BS or BA) in Environmental Sciences or Environmental & Sustainability Studies
- Master’s Degree (MS) in Environmental Sciences & Policy
- PhD in Earth Sciences & Environmental Sustainability, with an emphasis in Ecology, Evolution & Conservation Biology
Graduate-level courses Accordion Closed
- ENV 555 Science Policy Interface
- ENV 540 Conservation Biology
- ENV 560 Evolution & Environmental Change
- ENV/BIO/FOR 577 Concepts in Ecology
- Courses and workshops in R and data analysis