Division of Environmental Biology
DEB supports research on evolutionary and ecological processes across various levels, encouraging interdisciplinary and inclusive proposals aligned with NSF goals.
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation
Due Dates: Proposals accepted anytime
Funding Amounts: Total program funding ~$100M/year; typical awards range from $5,000–$5,000,000; STAR Grants up to $400,000
Summary: Supports research and training on evolutionary and ecological processes across populations, species, communities, ecosystems, and biogeographic scales.
Key Information: No deadline; open to U.S. academic and eligible non-profit research organizations.
Description
The Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) program supports research and training aimed at understanding evolutionary and ecological processes at multiple biological scales, from populations to ecosystems and across spatial and temporal extents. The program encourages projects that elucidate fundamental principles explaining the unity and diversity of life and its interactions with the environment. Proposals may use field, laboratory, collection-based, observational, manipulative, synthesis, phylogenetic, analytical, statistical, or computational modeling approaches.
Research should be submitted to one of four core clusters:
- Ecosystem Science
- Evolutionary Processes
- Population and Community Ecology
- Systematics and Biodiversity Science
Interdisciplinary proposals that cross conceptual boundaries or integrate across multiple scales are encouraged. Special tracks are available for STAR Grants (targeted research up to $400,000), international collaborations (with UK NERC and Israel BSF), and integrative biology (IntBIO). Research focused on marine ecology should be directed to the Biological Oceanography Program in the Division of Ocean Sciences.
