The Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology (EEMB), comprised of approximately 30 faculty research groups, is strongly committed to excellence in both education and research. EEMB researchers use their scientific understanding to address some of the world's most pressing environmental issues, including consequences of global warming and ocean acidification, invasive and endangered species, impacts of environmental change, biological control of introduced pests and parasites, biodiversity, pollution, harmful algal blooms, design of marine protected areas, and acid rain. As evidence of high faculty quality, UCSB has been ranked first in the nation in research impact in the area of Ecology/Environment, and fifth in the nation in Plant and Animal Science (the area that includes marine biology - Science Watch, November 2006).

Located in an incomparably beautiful setting directly on the California coast, faculty and student researchers have easy access to a myriad of unique environments including the oceanic Pacific, deep coastal basins, estuarine, subtidal and intertidal marine coastal ecosystems near major faunal boundaries, and mountain, chaparral, oak woodland, desert, island, and coastal terrestrial and freshwater habitats. EEMB research studies are also underway across the globe, including such regions as the South Pacific, the Sargasso Sea, Central and South America, the Arctic, and Antarctica.

EEMB offers MA and Ph D. degrees and four undergraduate majors (Aquatic Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Physiology, and Zoology), and jointly oversees a general Biological Sciences major with the MCDB department. Undergraduate participation in original field and laboratory research with faculty is strongly encouraged.