Meet the Scientist

Scientists by Environmental Issue

Today, many environmental challenges threaten the natural processes that link people, plants, and animals together in a fragile web of life we call “biodiversity.”
Pollution, habitat destruction, and overuse of natural resources are causing species to go extinct, resulting in a loss of biodiversity.

Science and conservation go hand in hand. We need to understand how our actions affect the creatures and habitats around us to learn how to properly preserve them. Field Museum scientists share a common goal—to document and diagnose biodiversity and how it is changing in order to help design ways to protect it.

Select an environmental issue below to learn more about the Field Museum scientist who work to solve these problems.

	Climate Change Find out about Field Museum scientists who examine the effects that climate change and global warming have on the world’s biodiversity.
	African Biodiversity Meet the Field Museum biologists, geologists, and anthropologists who study and protect Africa's rich biological and ethnic heritage.
	Genetic Biodiversity Meet the men and women who map, analyze, and preserve the genetic diversity of life on Earth.
	Island Biodiversity See the scientists who work to understand and protect oceanic islands—biological havens that host some of the most unique plant and animal populations in the world.
	Biodiversity in the Neotropics Share in the excitement of experts who study and safeguard the incredible variety of plants, animals, and cultural diversity found in the New World Tropics.
	Living Waters Check out the men and women who explore and care for our planet’s freshwater and ocean communities.
	Asian Biodiversity Find out more about Field Museum researchers who specialize in the diversity of plants, animals, and cultures that live in Asia’s fragile ecosystems.
	Biodiversity in Your Backyard Investigate the efforts of experts who work to understand and preserve Chicago’s rare woodlands, prairies, wetlands, and waters.
	Tree of Life Examine the work of Field Museum scientists who reconstruct the family tree of our planet’s plants, fungi, and animals.

Knowledge of the underlying biology is critical when making decisions for restoration projects, since the goal is to "restore" a habitat to its "original" condition.

—Philip Willink, Ph.D.
Assistant Collections Manager, Fishes
The Field Museum