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
Rebecca Best Aquatic ecology & evolution 
Rebecca Best
Plant functional ecology 
Rachel Mitchell
Rachel Mitchell
Herpetology & conservation Erika Nowak
Erika Nowak Remote sensing geoinformatics Teki Sankey
Teki Sankey Plant ecology & conservation 
Laura Huenneke
Laura HuennekeCollaborators
At NAU Accordion Open
- Many faculty in this area collaborate across NAU with faculty in Biology, Forestry, and the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems
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