Facilities
- UA Arboretum
- Optical Analysis Facility
- Tanglewood Biological Station
- Steven Johnson Molecular Systematics Laboratory
- Analytical Aquatic Chemistry Laboratory
- Bevill Indoor Mesocosm Facility
A list of University of Alabama research facilities may be found on the website of the Office for Sponsored Programs.
Research Centers
Many BSC faculty and students participate in interdepartmental collaborations through the Center for Freshwater Studies, an interdisciplinary research and education center of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Working through the National Water Center, faculty and students in biological sciences specialize in ecology and biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems, including the anthropogenic influences impacting largescale watersheds, as well as coastal and marine systems.
Biological scientists may find further opportunities for collaboration via the Center for Sedimentary Basin Studies, which integrates the work of various scientific disciplines, including geologists, geophysicists, engineers, hydrologists, paleontologists, biologists, computer scientists, and scientists and practitioners in other related fields, to examine all aspects of sedimentary basins from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Technology and Instrumentation
Housed within the department and associated facilities are mass spectrometry instrumentation (IRMS, GC-MS), scanning and transmission electron microscopy, scintillation counters, standard molecular biology equipment, environmental chambers, experimental greenhouses, re-circulating mesocosms, and numerous liquid chromatographs and gas chromatographs.
Instrumentation available on campus through the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, the Central Analytical Facility and the Center for Materials for Information Technology include MALDI-TOF, HRMS, NMR, EPR, AFM/MFM, dual beam focused ion beam system, local electrode atom probe and amolecular modeling lab with a Silicon Graphics computer and SYBYL modeling software. The facilities are staffed and provide student training.
Collections
Researchers in the department have access to some of the largest collections of fishes, insects, and other organisms in the region. These include the following:
- University of Alabama Ichthyological Collection
- University of Alabama Herbarium
- The collections of the Alabama Museum of Natural History, including collections specializing in invertebrate and vertebrate paleontology, paleobotany, entomology, and mammals