Graduate student research in ecology and environmental biology ranges from basic analysis to applied problems.

Subject areas include physiological ecology of phytoplankton, macrophytes, and vertebrates; plant-herbivore interactions; predator-prey interactions; limnology; aquatic food webs; fisheries biology; tropical ecosystems; evolutionary biology; bogs, bryophytes, wetlands, and terrestrial ecosystems; and ecotoxicology.

The department also provides practical courses in biostatistics and experimental design. Many research projects are done in conjunction with the Lake Superior Ecosystem Research Center.