The Elmore Lab (https://sites.google.com/view/elmore-ecology) at Clemson University is seeking to recruit 1 PhD and 1 MS student to join the Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation (FEC) under the Wildlife and Fisheries Biology graduate program (https://www.clemson.edu/cafls/forestry-environmental-conservation/students/graduate.html).
Tropical Storm Helene caused widespread flooding, landslides, and destruction across the southern Appalachian region in September 2024. These impacts caused long-term and potentially permanent changes to the distribution, structure, and function of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Field evaluations and monitoring are required to understand how baseline ecological conditions changed following these large-scale, geological changes in terrestrial and aquatic systems. Graduate students working on this project will be part of a larger team working to monitor and assess terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems impacted by Tropical Storm Helene. This dynamic and multi-disciplinary team at Clemson University has expertise across the fields of forestry, wildlife, fisheries, and fire ecology. Team members will work closely with federal, state, and non-governmental organizations to communicate findings and inform ongoing, on-the-ground restoration and recovery efforts aimed at focal species, ecosystems and important forest resources.
The PhD candidate will help coordinate a landscape-scale monitoring project and ask questions surrounding how priority bird species (e.g., Kentucky Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Swainson’s Warbler, Veery, Ruffed Grouse, etc.) respond to hurricane damage and restoration projects. Bird monitoring will use autonomous recording units (ARU) and may integrate other human or citizen science-based surveys into occupancy or population trends. The MS candidate will help coordinate a smaller scale nest monitoring project and ask questions surrounding how priority bird species nesting behavior and success is influenced by hurricane damage and restoration projects. Both projects will compare across disturbed to undisturbed areas and may include questions pertaining to scale and resolution of disturbance on the landscape. Students will have the opportunity to develop some specific research questions and shape their dissertation/thesis to their interest within the above framework.
Each position includes a tuition waiver and a 12-month stipend (PhD = $35k and MS = $30k per year). The position also includes a university computer, funding for professional travel (e.g., conferences and training) or field work, and publication costs for peer-reviewed publications. Positions will be located on campus at Clemson University (https://www.clemson.edu/), a public land-grant Carnegie R1 Research University in a college town setting, on Lake Hartwell, in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is about 2 hours from Atlanta, GA and Charlotte, NC, and about 45 minutes from Greenville, SC. Clemson is bound on the north and south by the 17,500-acre Clemson University Forest and the west by Lake Hartwell. The FEC is home of the South Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, The Baruch institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science, The National Bobwhite and Grassland Initiative, and several other research and education centers. Remote work is not possible as students must take on-campus classes and conduct summer field work in remote areas of Pisgah National Forest just outside of Asheville, North Carolina.
The Elmore Lab and FEC at Clemson University desire to create a diverse community that welcomes people regardless of race, culture, age, gender, sexuality, religion, socioeconomic level, political perspective, physical ability, opinion, value, or experience. We value and believe that each member of our team enriches our research experience by contributing to the understanding and engagement of science while being included and respected. We also recognize that effective mentorship is an important influence for student outcomes, experiences, completion, satisfaction, and success. We expect a mutual exchange, mentor-mentee relationship founded in respect, personal rigorous goals to be set, and we do everything in our ability to achieve those as a team.
PhD applicants must have a MS degree and MS applicants must have a BS degree in wildlife ecology, natural resources, environmental science, geography, GIS, or closely related field. The desire to publish peer-reviewed scientific articles is required, and ideal applicants will have evidence of both written and oral communication skills. Applicants demonstrating advanced modeling and computational skills, including proficiency in R and/or GIS programs (or demonstrating a desire to learn these skills) will be highly competitive. Applicants should demonstrate that they have the ability to lead and manage an independent research project, but also be a part of collaborative team efforts. Commitment to bird conservation is a must, and demonstrated experience conducting bird field work highly desired. For the PhD position, applicants with experience processing ARU data and/or integrating multiple data sources at broad spatial scales will be highly competitive. For the MS position, applicants with experience tracking individual birds or conducting nest studies will be highly competitive.
To apply, please send a single merged PDF that includes a letter of interest and qualifications, full academic CV, unofficial transcripts, and contact information for at least 3 professional references to jaelmor@clemson.edu with “Bird response to disturbance graduate position” as the email subject. I welcome informal inquiries about the position. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until successful applicants are found. The positions will start in January or May of 2026.