Biological Collections

The Department of Biology and the Evolutionary Biology program area have a number of preserved Biological Collections, used both in teaching and in student and faculty research. These collections are vital in documenting the biodiversity of both local and worldwide regions and are often cited in research publications. Our collections number at over 100,000 total specimens, including: Amphibians, Lizards, & Snakes (herpetology, 14,000 specimens); Birds (ornithology, 2,700 specimens); Fish (ichthyology, ca. 15,000 specimens); Mammals (2,900 specimens); Plants (SDSU Herbarium, 17,500 specimens); and Terrestrial Arthropods (insects, spiders, & relatives, 55,000 specimens). In addition, the SDSU Greenhouse houses over 1,000 specimens of live plants used for examples in teaching and in research experimentation and field documentation. Excellent regional collections of vertebrates and plants are also available at the San Diego Museum of Natural History and the Scripps Institute of Oceanography.

Research and Teaching Facilities

Evolutionary Biology maintains a computer lab, used in teaching and available for use by graduate students. Extensive computer labs and shared laboratory facilities are also maintained by the Department of Biology. SDSU is a member of the regional CRAY Supercomputer Consortium and is the supercomputer gateway to the California State University (CSU) System.

The College of Sciences maintains the Microchemical Core Facility (for protein/DNA/RNA analysis, including DNA sequencing) and the SDSU Electron Microscope Facility (for ultrastructural analyses).

Several university Field Stations are available for research. These include the Santa Margarita Field Station, a 2800-acre site about one hour from campus near Temecula, California, Sky Oaks Field Station, occupying 3500 acres adjacent to the Cleveland National Forest and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Fortuna Mountain Research Preserve, an 850 hectare site located within 10 miles of campus, and the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Preserve. Both the Santa Margarita and Sky Oaks Field Stations have living quarters that may be used by faculty and student, for classes and research projects.

In addition, some research on vertebrates is possible at the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park and research on marine biota at the SDSU Coastal Marine Institute. SDSU faculty and students also collaborate with researchers at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center.