Graduate project (MS level) on Fish and Microplastics in Texas
Hello together,
please see and share the attached advertisement for a graduate research project on microplastic in the diet of juvenile fish in Texan Bays in my Early Life History Research lab at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi (https://www.facebook.com/geistlarvallab/).
Thank you
Simon Geist
PhD opportunity at UW Seattle: Interactions among large and small carnivores
Subject: PhD opportunity at UW Seattle: Interactions among large and small carnivores
A PhD position is available in the Prugh lab at the University of Washington to work on an NSF-funded study examining interactions among large carnivores and mesocarnivores in northern Washington. Wolves and cougars may affect mesocarnivores negatively through killing and aggression, as well as positively by providing carrion food subsidies.
The broad goal of this project is to quantify these positive and negative interactions in an integrative framework. This study is part of a large collaborative multi-predator, multi-prey study that began in 2017. The student will work closely with other PhD students, professors (Aaron Wirsing and Beth Gardner), and biologists at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The student will join a diverse research lab in the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences (http://www.prughlab.com/).
Although the broad goals for this study have been determined, there is considerable flexibility in terms of specific questions that could be addressed. The project will require intensive year-round fieldwork, involving capture and GPS collaring of coyotes and bobcats, scat collection (for fecal genotyping and diet), stable isotope analysis, small mammal trapping, and monitoring scavenging at ungulate carcasses using cameras. A variety of quantitative approaches could be used to analyze the data (e.g., spatial CMR, movement, behavior, demography).
Collaborators are collaring cougars, wolves, elk, mule deer, and white tailed deer in the same area, providing the opportunity to examine species interactions in unprecedented detail.
Grant support for this project includes 3 years of year-round stipend and tuition, and additional fellowship and teaching assistantship opportunities are available. The student would ideally be available to lead field efforts this summer starting in May or June and begin classes in Fall 2018.
An MS degree, strong academic record, and previous fieldwork experience is required. The student must work well on a large, collaborative team and be able to manage a complex field project with winter and summer fieldwork. Strong quantitative skills and a record of publishing in peer-reviewed journals are highly desirable. In exceptional cases, applicants without MS degrees may be considered. To be considered for this opportunity, please send a cover letter outlining your research interests and qualifications, a CV, unofficial copies of your transcripts, and contact information for 3 references as a single PDF document to Laura Prugh (lprugh@uw.edu). To ensure full consideration, submit your materials by April 15, 2018. Be sure to include your undergraduate GPA and GRE percentiles (NOT raw scores) in your materials.
EEB 4272 Summer Flora summer session class
Are you interested in plants and want to learn hands-on skills such as plant identification, taxonomy, and conservation? Does a career in botany or wildlife biology appeal to you? Do you wish your labs were held outside? Or do you simply want to know more about what is in your own backyard?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then EEB 4272 Summer Flora is the class for you! In this 3 credit course (May 29 -June 29), you’ll cover a wide range of practical botany skills and general knowledge in the context of the New England flora. Sign up now while seats are available! Please contact the instructor, Henry Frye (henry.frye@uconn.edu), if you have further questions.
Plant Community Ecology REU in Alpine Tundra
Subject: Plant Community Ecology REU in Alpine Tundra
The Spasojevic Ecology Lab at the University of California Riverside is recruiting one undergraduate to participate in a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) this summer at the Niwot Ridge Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site near Boulder Colorado. The successful applicant will contribute to ongoing NSF-funded research investigating the role of early snowmelt on plant biodiversity patterns in alpine tundra and develop an independent project on a topic of their choosing within the field of plant community ecology. Please see the Spasojevic Lab website
(www.traitecology.com) for the types of projects that we work on.
Benefits
Stipend is $5,250 for 10-week session, meals provided in a dining hall and a partial food stipend ($30/per day) for the 18 days that the dining hall is closed, housing in a rustic cabin, travel to the program (one round trip, up to $500).
Qualifications
Students must be currently enrolled in a 2-year or 4-year school.
Students graduating before September 2018 will not be eligible.
Participants must be US Citizens, US Nationals, or permanent residents.
We strongly encourage applications from underrepresented groups in the sciences, first-generation college students, students that attend colleges with limited research opportunities (small liberal arts and community colleges), financially disadvantaged students, students with physical disabilities, and US military veterans.
Application
Please send a cover letter, C.V. or resume, and contact information for two references to markos@ucr.edu. Review of applicants will begin April 15th.
Important Note: Applicants must be in adequate physical condition to live at the Mountain Research Station’s elevation (9,500 feet) and to participate in activities at and above this elevation. For nearly all students, there are no difficulties beyond needing a few days of acclimation. If you have a history of heart or lung problems or have other physical conditions which might limit your ability to participate, please consult with your physician before applying.
Please see (http://mspaso.wixsite.com/traitecology/join-the-lab) for details
Summer Research Assistant in Grasshopper Ecology – Western Montana
REU positions in forest invasion ecology
University Field Course Opportunities with Operation Wallacea
What is Operation Wallacea?
Operation Wallacea (Opwall) is an organization that runs a series of biological and conservation management research programs each year from early June to early August in remote locations across the world. Working alongside a large team of academics and PhD students, these annual surveys have produced 330+ publications in peer reviewed journals.The funding for Opwall programs comes from tuition fees paid by students who then have the opportunity to work with publishing scientists.This approach overcomes issues caused by the short term nature of grant based funding and enables long-term temporal data sets to be gathered in habitats around the world using comparable methods across research sites. More than 250 academics and 70+ PhD students have participated in this program, with resulting data then being used to lever funds for conservation interventions at these sites.
Opportunities for Field Training Courses
The research facilities established by Opwall are available for university training courses outside the normal expedition research season (June-August). The sites identified below all have sufficient local experts, survey equipment and logistics management to be used for 1 or 2 week field courses. Universities and colleges are able to design and plan field courses utilizing key benefits including:
- Established field sites
- Access to past datasets
- Full lecture series (if required)
- Local support and guides (if required)
- Bespoke training course
- Past testimonials
- Workable project lists
- Background reading list
- Completed risk assessments
- Fully packaged travel arrangements
- Costs starting at $640 per week per student, excluding travel (one free place for an academic for each 10 students-this place is pro rata).
Based in the Yucatan Peninsula in forest camps for the first week, this Neotropical forest ecology and conservation course consists of practicals including camera trapping for jaguars and pumas, point count surveys for birds, standard search transects for herpetofauna, Morelet crocodile surveys, scan and focal sampling behavior surveys of spider monkeys, and assessing forest structure. The second week is based at a marine research center and consists of PADI Open Water dive training or a Caribbean reef ecology course with practicals, including sea turtle behavioral studies by diving or snorkeling.
Peru – Amazon Forest Courses
Based on a research ship moored in the remote Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, this Amazonian Wildlife Ecology and Conservation course consists of practicals including line transects for pink and grey dolphins, gill net surveys for fish, point counts for macaws, caiman surveys, water bird transect surveys, distance and patch occupancy surveys of large mammals, camera trapping, niche separation in 12 species of primates, and amphibian surveys of floating vegetation mats.
South Africa – Bush Courses
Based in a range of Highveld, Lowveld and Fynbos reserves, this African Wildlife Management course consists of practicals including distance based surveys of large mammals from vehicles, foot based surveys of browsing and grazing pressure to calculate carrying capacities of reserves, bird point counts, and camera trapping. These courses have the students working with armed guards on foot in reserves for some practicals and includes initial training in bush survey and safety skills.
Indonesia – Marine Courses
Based in the famous Wakatobi Marine National Park, the most published site in the Coral Triangle, this field course includes dive training to PADI Open Water level as well as an Indo-Pacific reef ecology course with practicals focused on 3D mapping software to model reefs, stereo video surveys of reef fish, seagrass and mangrove studies, behavior projects on fiddler crabs and cleaner fish, and artisanal fishery survey methods.
Croatia – Terrestrial and Marine courses
Based in Krka National Park research centre for the first week, the Balkan field course consists of practicals including electrofishing, cave surveys, camera trapping for large mammals such as wolves, bird point counts and mist netting, and reptile surveys. The marine week is based in Mljet National Park, with dive training to PADI Open Water level or the Mediterranean Sea and islands ecology course with practicals including stereo video surveys of fish, sea grass surveys, and tortoise population surveys.
Kirsten
Summer undergrad field course opportunities
- Gain valuable career skills in hands-on scientific field research
- Earn 3 undergraduate academic transfer credits over summer-break
- Join a diverse & exciting group of college students for an experiential
learning experience of a lifetime!
Accredited by the University of Montana, Environmental Studies Program
ENST 391- for 3 undergraduate semester transfer credits