Despite a late start due to the pandemic, I’m seeking to hire another student to help with multi-faceted research addressing hypotheses and factors governing distribution and abundance of mountain-dwelling species at numerous spatial and temporal scales. Work this summer will focus on retrieving multi-year data from microclimate sensors in remote areas of Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Custer and especially Gallatin National Forests, and perhaps the Columbia River Gorge, and performing surveys of birds and mammals (especially American pikas) on rocky talus slopes. Fieldwork demands excellent physical endurance and resiliency, as well as great mental acuity and savvy, prudent backcountry decision-making. Work involves walking 6-18 miles per day, often off-trail, to elevations above 4,000 m (~13,000′), all kinds of weather conditions, and careful attention to detail in the data collection. In addition to being a model system for all kinds of ecological theory (e.g., metapopulation dynamics, Island Biogeography Theory, source-sink dynamics, extinction dynamics), our focal systems have inspired monitoring in protected and managed landscapes of >60 management areas across western North America, and have been considered for elevated conservation status under the Endangered Species Act. Based out of Bozeman, MT, work will begin in no later than early July and extend into late August or (preferably) mid-September. Ideal candidates will enjoy daily jaunts up and down (and backpacking in) mountains, and be responsible, passionate, hard-working, intellectually inquisitive, and work well with others.
If interested, U.S. citizens should please send a resume/CV, contact information for 3-5 references who can speak to your fit to the position, and a cover letter that also addresses your fit to the position, to EBeever@usgs.gov . As a backup, feel free to call Erik at (530) 410-9631. Because selection will be made on a rolling basis, please submit application materials ASAP.