The objectives of the programs are to train the next generation of scientists in integrative biology who will tackle some of the major issues of our time including the responses of biological systems to environmental variation and change. The programs provide students with a broad knowledge of the field through courses and seminars and prepare students for independent and original research in one of the various specialized subdisciplines of integrative biology. Faculty and staff work on a wide range of biological systems and emphasize the integration and synthesis of information from various levels of biological organization, from molecules to ecosystems. Areas of active research include genetics, cellular and developmental biology, systematics, paleontology, comparative morphology, physiology, behavior, and ecology and evolutionary biology.Students may obtain specialized graduate training through interdepartmental graduate programs. Integrative Biology faculty are affiliated with interdepartmental graduate programs and research in genetics, cell and molecular biology, neuroscience, and ecology and evolutionary biology. Additional information about the doctoral programs in genetics and neuroscience, and about the Specialization in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, may be found in other sections of this catalog. Students specializing in ecological research may take courses and carry out research at the W. K. Kellogg Biological Station located near Kalamazoo.