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The Department of Zoology at the University of Hawai'i at
Mānoa (UHM) offers graduate programs leading to the MS
and PhD degrees. The major strengths of the department lie
in the areas of animal behavior, evolution and ecology, as
well as cellular, molecular, and developmental biology. In
addition, programs of notable strength have developed in areas
that utilize the resources of Hawai'i's unique island setting,
including developmental biology, marine biology, as well as
ecology, evolution and conservation biology. Three interdisciplinary
graduate specializations are available to graduate students
in zoology, which are Cellular
and Molecular Biology; Ecology,
Evolution, and Conservation Biology Program; and Marine
Biology.
 As
one of the most special places in the world in terms of natural
environment, Hawai'i presents exceptional opportunities for
research and training in zoology. Despite their small size,
the Hawaiian Islands offer habitats ranging from rich coral
reefs to freezing alpine barrens, and from the wettest spot
on earth to virtual deserts. The great diversity of habitats,
together with the extreme isolation of the islands, has resulted
in a unique and wonderful biota. Fringed by extensive coral
reefs and a variety of other marine habitats, the Hawaiian
Islands constitute an ideal location for the study of marine
biology. The easy access to an ocean-wide diversity of marine
animals and environments in the Pacific has long placed Hawai'i
at the forefront of research in marine biology.
While some major groups of animals are nearly or entirely
absent from the native fauna, other groups have undergone
extraordinary evolutionary radiations. As a result, the great
majority of native species are endemic, found nowhere else
in the world. Many have evolved forms or functions quite unlike
those of their relatives elsewhere — carnivorous caterpillars
and "woodpecker" honeycreepers are among the more
striking examples. Hawai'i is thus an outstanding "natural
laboratory of evolution," presenting exceptional opportunities
to study not only the evolutionary processes responsible for
this unique fauna, but also the ecological relationships within
the unusual communities resulting from the absences and proliferations
of different groups.
 Unfortunately,
the native biology of Hawai'i is also one of the most threatened
in the world, constituting an exceptional "laboratory
of extinction." The isolated island setting has made
the native biota extremely susceptible to habitat destruction
and invasive species. As a result, Hawai'i has the majority
of recorded endangered and extinct species in the United States.
Opportunities for conservation biology research and action
in Hawai'i are therefore plentiful and pressing as well.
Much of the research in the department emphasizes the animals
of Hawai'i: marine invertebrates, terrestrial arthropods,
fishes and birds. Faculty members of the Department of Zoology
conduct cutting-edge research in a variety of areas including
the following:
- avian biology
- behavior
- evolutionary biology
- ecology
- cell biology
- conservation biology and resource management
- coral biology and coral reef ecology
- developmental biology
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- entomology (and other terrestrial arthropods)
- invertebrate zoology
- ichthyology
- marine biology
- marine mammals
- molecular biology
- physiology
- systematics and taxonomy
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The Department of Zoology is housed in Edmondson Hall, a
four-story, 42,000 sq.ft. classroom-laboratory building completed
in September 1962, and named in honor of the late Professor
of Zoology, Charles H. Edmondson. Edmondson Hall contains
office-laboratory units for faculty, office space for graduate
students, teaching laboratories, an extensive fish collection,
aquarium room, and computer facilities. The department also
maintains a small boat for shallow-water fieldwork. In addition,
the department works closely with the units listed below:
Many MS graduates of the zoology program have gone on to
pursue doctoral studies at UHM or at other prestigious institutions
such as the University of California at Berkeley, the University
of Michigan, Columbia University, Stanford University, and
Yale University. Others teach at colleges, community colleges
or high schools. A number of MS graduates have found employment
with natural resource management agencies in the United States,
including the U.S.G.S. Biological Resources Division, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and
the National Tropical Botanical Garden. Others work as fisheries
biologists in Guam, Pakistan and Palau.
Many of the PhD graduates have continued on to postdoctoral
research positions at institutions such as the Smithsonian
Tropical Research Institute, the Hopkins Marine Station, Scripps,
and major research universities throughout the United States
and abroad. A number of PhD graduates hold faculty positions
at schools ranging from small private colleges to major research
universities, including the University of Michigan, the University
of Colorado, Auburn University, the North Carolina State University,
as well as universities in Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand
and South Africa. Some teach in community colleges or high
schools. Other PhD graduates work as researchers or resource
managers for state and federal agencies, including the Fish
and Wildlife Service, the Agency for International Development,
the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the Environmental
Protection Agency, the State of Hawai'i Department of Business,
Economic Development and Tourism, the Waikiki Aquarium, and
the Fisheries Management Council for the West Pacific Region.
A number of PhD graduates have found employment in the private
sector, working as consultants, researchers or environmental
lawyers.
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