Evolutionary biologists study ancestry and descent among species, using various techniques to understand how organisms descended from a common ancestor. They study evolution on both small and large scales, and their work is interdisciplinary. Many work in academia, combining research and teaching, while others work in industry or related fields.
An evolutionary biologist is someone who studies patterns of ancestry and descent among species on Earth’s tree of life. He or she is concerned with the origin, extinction, diversity and change of species over time. An evolutionary biologist uses a myriad of techniques in science to understand how organisms descended from a common ancestor.
Evolution was traditionally studied by evolutionary biologists at the organizational scale. This large-scale approach focuses on significant changes in species over time or space. The study of ancestry and descent in the fossil record is an example of changes over time. Perhaps the most famous example of changes in space is the variation among finches on the Galápagos Islands, which was noted and popularized by Charles Darwin.
During a revolution in molecular biology and genetics, evolutionary biologists began to study evolution on a small scale. An evolutionary biologist can now track changes in genetics from one generation to the next in the lab. Using short-lived test subjects such as fruit flies or bacteria, a biologist can observe small-scale evolution processes in the laboratory.
Small-scale and large-scale evolutionary biology is interdisciplinary in nature. An evolutionary biologist usually specializes in one field, but also trains in areas such as organizational biology, molecular biology, genetics or developmental biology. Areas such as geology, anthropology and computer science are also relevant. The science of evolutionary biology can be laboratory-based or field-based, or it can be a combination of both.
Evolutionary biology was a maturing field of study as of 2011, but many fundamental and exciting questions were still being studied. For example, evolutionary biologists have tried to understand how large-scale and small-scale evolutionary processes fit together. They tried to learn how and when genetic changes occur and result in successful adaptation. Paleobiologists have tried to unravel the timeline of the origins and extinctions of species in the fossil record. Evolutionary theorists have tried to figure out what forces and drives evolution, from natural selection to sexual selection, from random genetic drift to environmental catastrophe.
Most evolutionary biologists work in academia and are affiliated with a college or university. His daily work is therefore a combination of research and teaching. Some evolutionary biologists work in industry or in private or government research institutes. There are also many individuals who have basic academic backgrounds in evolutionary biology who continue to work in related careers. such as science writing, education, or conservation.
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