This evolutionary biologist fuses art into her science

academic: Relating to school, classes or things taught by teachers in formal institutes of learning (such as a college).

biology: The study of living things. The scientists who study them are known as biologists.

coral: Marine animals that often produce a hard and stony exoskeleton and tend to live on reefs (the exoskeletons of dead ancestor corals).

curriculum: (plural: curricula) The official classroom materials (often readings) used to lead students through a course of study on a particular topic.

DNA: (short for deoxyribonucleic acid) A long, double-stranded and spiral-shaped molecule inside most living cells that carries genetic instructions. It is built on a backbone of phosphorus, oxygen, and carbon atoms. In all living things, from plants and animals to microbes, these instructions tell cells which molecules to make.

environment: The sum of all of the things that exist around some organism or the process and the condition those things create. Environment may refer to the weather and ecosystem in which some animal lives, or, perhaps, the temperature and humidity (or even the placement of things in the vicinity of an item of interest).

environmental science: The study of ecosystems to help identify environmental problems and possible solutions. Environmental science can bring together many fields including physics, chemistry, biology and oceanography to understand how ecosystems function and how humans can coexist with them in harmony. People who work in this field are known as environmental scientists.

evolve: (adj. evolving) To change gradually over generations, or a long period of time. In living organisms, such an evolution usually involves random changes to genes that will then be passed along to an individual’s offspring. These can lead to new traits, such as altered coloration, new susceptibility to disease or protection from it, or different shaped features (such as legs, antennae, toes or internal organs).

extract: (v.) To separate one chemical (or component of something) from a complex mix. (noun)

field: An area of study, as in: Her field of research is biology. Also a term to describe a real-world environment in which some research is conducted, such as at sea, in a forest, on a mountaintop or on a city street. It is the opposite of an artificial setting, such as a research laboratory.

generation: A group of individuals (in any species) born at about the same time or that are regarded as a single group. Your parents belong to one generation of your family, for example, and your grandparents to another. Similarly, you and everyone within a few years of your age across the planet are referred to as belonging to a particular generation of humans.

genetic: Having to do with chromosomes, DNA and the genes contained within DNA. The field of science dealing with these biological instructions is known as genetics. People who work in this field are geneticists.

infographic: A chart, table, diagram, photos or drawings together with data that present information in a largely visual way. In these presentations, text is kept to a minimum.

information: (as opposed to data) Facts provided or trends learned about something or someone, often as a result of studying data.

invertebrate: An animal lacking a backbone. About 90 percent of animal species are invertebrates.

marine: Having to do with the ocean world or environment.

mentor: An individual who lends his or her experience to advise someone starting out in a field. In science, teachers or researchers often mentor students or younger scientists by helping them to refine their research questions. Mentors also can offer feedback on how young investigators prepare to conduct research or interpret their data.

organism: Any living thing, from elephants and plants to bacteria and other types of single-celled life.

PhD: (also known as a doctorate) A type of advanced degree offered by universities — typically after five or six years of study — for work that creates new knowledge. People qualify to begin this type of graduate study only after having first completed a college degree (a program that typically takes four years of study).

plankton: (sing. plankter) Small organisms that largely drift or float in the sea. Depending on the species, plankton range from microscopic sizes to organisms about the size of a flea. Some are tiny animals. Others are plant-like organisms. Although an individual plankter is very small, these organisms often form massive colonies, numbering in the billions. The largest animal in the world, the blue whale, lives on plankton.

post-doctoral scholar, or post-doc: A research position for people who have just completed their doctorate in some field of study. It allows the individual to acquire new skills or pursue new lines of research on the road to a research career.

reef: A ridge of rock, coral or sand. It rises up from the seafloor and may come to just above or just under the water’s surface.

refuge: Some place that provides safety, such as protection from danger, discomfort or pursuit. For instance, a cave could provide refuge from the storm.

resilience: The ability to recover quickly from a setback.

scuba diving: A form of underwater diving in which the person carries special equipment in order to breathe, including a tank of air and a breathing mask. The word scuba is short for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.

stress: (in biology) A factor — such as unusual temperatures, movements, moisture or pollution — that affects the health of a species or ecosystem.

yeast: One-celled fungi that can ferment carbohydrates (like sugars), producing carbon dioxide and alcohol. They also play a pivotal role in making many baked products rise.