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Ecology Institute

Accelerating Research, Inspiring Solutions


*** The leadership of the Penn State ecology community has prepared the following statement about the continuing need to address racism and injustice in our society:

Please read here. 

The Penn State Ecology Institute brings together faculty, students, postdoctoral scholars, and stakeholders to drive innovation in ecology-based research and training. Our approach is interdisciplinary, drawing on the diverse skills and perspectives in our research community. We also engage with other disciplines, including geosciences, geography, sociology, ethics, policy, decision analysis, economics, landscape architecture, and anthropology. Together, we are working to address the most defining challenges in contemporary ecology. Come see, come learn, come explore with us.

Resilience and Adaptation

Provisions of Ecosystem Goods and Services

Ecology at the Interface

Rapid Evolutionary Change

Ecological Foundations

News

Research teams receive $1.1 million to study microbiomes in agriculture

Two Penn State-led research teams have received funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture for projects investigating the ways microbiomes — the microorganisms in a particular environment, such as in soil or a living organism — can affect disease dynamics in agriculture.

Volunteers record bee biodiversity and discover new species in Pennsylvania

A new study, recently published in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America, evaluated the efficacy of a monitoring program, finding that 26 trained program volunteers were more than twice as effective at documenting bee diversity than thousands of users of the photo-based app iNaturalist.

Combining pest treatments may be key to helping honey bees survive the winter

Winters can be tough on managed honey bee colonies, with beekeepers in the United States reporting that one-third of their colonies die each winter. A new study by Penn State researchers has found that using not one but multiple pest treatments may help bees make it to spring.

News

Research teams receive $1.1 million to study microbiomes in agriculture

Two Penn State-led research teams have received funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture for projects investigating the ways microbiomes — the microorganisms in a particular environment, such as in soil or a living organism — can affect disease dynamics in agriculture.

Volunteers record bee biodiversity and discover new species in Pennsylvania

A new study, recently published in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America, evaluated the efficacy of a monitoring program, finding that 26 trained program volunteers were more than twice as effective at documenting bee diversity than thousands of users of the photo-based app iNaturalist.

Combining pest treatments may be key to helping honey bees survive the winter

Winters can be tough on managed honey bee colonies, with beekeepers in the United States reporting that one-third of their colonies die each winter. A new study by Penn State researchers has found that using not one but multiple pest treatments may help bees make it to spring.

Local disparities may prevent national vaccination efforts for rubella

When public health officials make policies about when and how vaccination programs are implemented, they must weigh the benefits and risks of how infectious diseases spread throughout the country. However, these analyses are often based on national-level data and, in some countries, may overlook nuances at the local level.