I am seeking to fill a doctoral student position with an individual having research interests in the population and community ecology of freshwater ponds; particularly the animals that live within and around them.  Research in my lab is largely focused on enhancing our understanding of three fundamental questions in ecology: (1) why are some ecological communities more diverse than others, (2) how does the biodiversity of a community affect ecological processes and the stability of ecological systems, and (3) what mechanisms control the population size of a species?  Example topics that students could pursue include 1) predator-prey and competitive interactions, 2) habitat selection and the process of community assembly, and 3) ecological causes and consequences of variation in biodiversity but I am open to the possibility of working with students on other topics in aquatic ecology as well.  Students will have the opportunity to address ecological questions via a multitude of quantitative approaches (including modeling, experimental and macroecological).  The position will be based out of David Chalcraft’s lab in the Department of Biology at East Carolina University.  East Carolina University (https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=www.ecu.edu&data=02%7C01%7Ceric.schultz%40uconn.edu%7C7b8de0251875404cb24b08d6a795f146%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C636880659798362464&sdata=EM7ARjNJXH%2B4iv%2Bz%2FHY0wtsZe4QEeQZ1w5FGWadJpAA%3D&reserved=0) is the third largest campus in the University of NC system and it’s Department of Biology (https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ecu.edu%2Fbiology%2F&data=02%7C01%7Ceric.schultz%40uconn.edu%7C7b8de0251875404cb24b08d6a795f146%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C636880659798362464&sdata=0bb%2Fzb%2F%2BhcodtU6GRkqe2JFrzghcBo1YPNDJ7UCnmfc%3D&reserved=0) has an active and well-supported group of faculty working in the areas of ecology and evolution. Ideally, the student will begin during the fall semester of 2019 so interested individuals should contact David Chalcraft (chalcraftd@ecu.edu) soon.  Please include a copy of your resume/cv, information about your past academic performance (e.g., GPA), and a description of your interest in this position.  More information about the research conducted in the Chalcraft lab can be found at https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcore.ecu.edu%2Fchalcraftd%2F&data=02%7C01%7Ceric.schultz%40uconn.edu%7C7b8de0251875404cb24b08d6a795f146%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C636880659798362464&sdata=gzAG5cgWFXAacZjT4lQsAgSUw44r88HLkRhXYxKS0dQ%3D&reserved=0.