paleonet Geobiology

["Nancy Todd" <toddn@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello everyone! I have enjoyed the recent 
discussion about geobiology and felt i had to 
add my 2 cents. 

Being that my Ph.D. is actually in Geobiology, I 
would support some of your comments about 
the link between living and non-living 
components of the biosphere being the primary 
focus of geobiology. As I see it, it is an 
interdisciplinary field in which any combination 
of geology and biology related subjects/fields 
can be put together for research and teaching 
purposes. It seems a bit more flexible in scope 
than paleobiology. 

I have a tenure-track job in a biology 
department, and was hired because of my 
interdisciplinary background. I currently teach 
ecosystem ecology, intro geology (in a biology 
department, no less!), environmental studies 
and evolutionary theory. My own research 
involves the evolution of elephants and their 
environment. Perhaps I am in a progressive 
department, but I do feel that my broad 
background was a plus. 

Hope an opinion from a geobiologist helps!
Nancy Todd
Dept. of Biology
Manhattanville College
2900 Purchase St.
Purchase, N.Y. 10577