The Sala Lab at Arizona State University is looking for motivated

undergraduate students to participate in research activities in grassland

ecosystem ecology during the summer of 2017. The participant will work with

graduate students, technicians and postdocs to assist with ongoing rainfall

manipulation experiments, vegetation and soil sampling, and other field

surveys at several field sites across the US. Additionally, participants

have the opportunity to work with Sala Lab members and the PI to develop a

personalized project.

Activities will primarily be based at either the Jornada basin (Las Cruces,

NM) or Konza Prairie (Manhattan, KS) with possible field trips (1-2 weeks

in duration) between these sites and our third location, the Semi-arid

Grasslands Research Center (north of Fort Collins, CO). The successful

applicants are awarded a stipend, which includes cost of travel, lodging,

and food.

*About the Jornada*

The Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological

Research Program is focused on the ecology of drylands in the southwest

USA, including the causes and consequences of alternative ecosystem states

and the expansion of woody plants into grasslands resulting in more =E2=80=

=9Cdesert

like=E2=80=9D conditions. By conducting long-term precipitation manipulatio=

n

experiments, we are interested in how long-term changes to precipitation

amount and variability affect ecosystem functioning. More information on

the LTER is available at https://jornada.nmsu.edu/lter

*About Konza Prairie*

The Konza Prairie LTER is centered on one of the most productive grasslands

in North America =E2=80=93 the tallgrass prairie. The Konza LTER program ha=

s

focused on fire, grazing, and climatic variability as three critical and

interactive drivers that affect ecological patterns and processes in

grasslands worldwide. In the context of the Sala Lab, Konza Prairie is one

site across a precipitation gradient where we specifically address how

changes to precipitation affect above versus belowground primary

production. We also ask what mechanisms, such as plant allocation or

belowground herbivory, may be driving plant responses to precipitation

change. More information on the LTER is available at

http://www.konza.ksu.edu/knz/pages/home/home.aspx

*Eligibility*

Undergraduate student participants supported with NSF funds in either REU

Supplements or REU Sites must be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or

permanent residents of the United States. An undergraduate student is a

student who is enrolled in a degree program (part-time or full-time)

leading to a baccalaureate or associate degree.

*Prior Fieldwork Experience required.*

*How to apply*

Applications are evaluated upon submission, and positions will be filled as

long as funding is available. Please send application materials to the Sala

Lab postdoc Dr. Laureano Gherardi (e-mail: Lau@asu.edu) by *April 14, 2017*=

.

*Application materials must include:*

Cover Letter

Resume or CV

Unofficial undergraduate transcript

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