*MASTER=E2=80=99S LEVEL GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIP FOR STUDY ON FOREST MANAGEMENT,

FIRE, AND TREE GROWTH, AND DROUGHT*

The objectives of the research are to provide a framework for understanding

how forest management influences forest resistance and resilience to

drought across diverse forest ecosystems in the Klamath region. Using a

combination of existing information and new field data we will assess: 1)

How tree growth rate varies across a steep climatic gradient in the Klamath

region; 2) the variation in growth responses to several major drought

episodes in this region; and 3) how forest management, specifically

prescribed fire and forest thinning, influences these growth patterns as an

indicator of both forest resiliency and changes in carbon storage. The

selected student will help to determine how differences in stand conditions

and management history confer (or don=E2=80=99t confer) increased resistance and

resilience to drought-induced moisture stress in terms of tree growth and

carbon accumulation.

We seek applications from highly-motivated individuals interested in

pursuing graduate studies in the Master of Science Natural Resources

Program with a degree in Forest, Watershed, and Wildland Sciences (

http://humboldt.edu/fwr/program/graduate_degrees) with Dr. Rosemary

Sherriff (http://humboldt.edu/fwr/faculty) and collaborators. We have a

strong interdisciplinary team involved in the project that includes faculty

and graduate students from Humboldt State University, and U.S.G.S. and

National Park Service partners.  There is potential to begin fieldwork in

the summer of 2018 before entering the graduate program in August 2018.

*ELIGIBILITY *

Strong candidates for admission to the Forest, Watershed and Wildland

Sciences graduate program at Humboldt State University will have a minimum

of:

=C2=B7     Grade point average of 3.2 or greater on a 4.0 scale in all college

and university work

=C2=B7     GRE scores in the top 40th%

=C2=B7     Demonstrated research interest and experience in forest ecology,

disturbance ecology, dendrochronology, or related field

*HOW TO APPLY TO BEGIN THE GRADUATE PROGRAM FOR FALL 2018 *

To apply, please first send inquiry with the following (as a PDF or Word

Document): 1) a resume/CV (including GPA); 2) a letter of interest (clearly

stated research interests and background); and 3) the names and contact

information of references to: sherriff@humboldt.edu*.  *

Second, a formal application need to be submitted through CSUMentor (

http://www.csumentor.edu/AdmissionApp/) by *February 1, 2018*.  More

information about applying for graduate programs at HSU is available at

http://www2.humboldt.edu/gradprograms/future-students. Women and applicants

from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds are especially encouraged to

apply. Applicants who do not have a previous degree in forestry are

eligible for admission to the Forest, Watershed and Wildland Sciences

graduate program.  However, students who are admitted may be required to

take prerequisite undergraduate forestry courses (e.g. forest ecology, fire

ecology).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rosemary Sherriff

Professor and Chair, Geography Department

Environmental Studies Program Faculty

Forest and Wildland Sciences Graduate Program Faculty

Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA 95521

Office: Founder’s Hall room 110

Phone: 707-826-4119, Fax: 707-826-3205, Email: sherriff@humboldt.edu

Dendroecology Lab: http://humboldt.edu/dendroecology/

Geography Department: http://humboldt.edu/geography/

Facebook page: Humboldt Geography @HSUGEOG

The School of Forest Resources, University of Maine

(http://www.forest.umaine.edu), is seeking a highly motivated graduate

student (M.S. or Ph.D.) in Forest Ecology. The student would participate

in one of the following research areas:(1) Identifying factors ‒

including climate/weather parameters ‒ that best explain temporal

variability in stand-level productivity; (2) Examining forest stand

dynamics by means of long-term permanent plots and dendrochronology

methods; (3) Characterizing carbon and nitrogen dynamics of decaying

wood in a field decomposition experiment. This position provides funding

at approximately $19,000/year, 50% of health insurance paid, and a

tuition waiver. The ideal candidate would have solid quantitative

experience/aptitude and a demonstrated ability to conduct independent

research. High levels of intellectual curiosityand self-motivation are

essential. If interested, please send a CV attached to a message briefly

explaining your background and research interests to Dr. Shawn Fraver

(shawn.fraver@maine.edu <mailto:shawn.fraver@maine.edu>). Position open

until filled.

—

Shawn Fraver, PhD

5755 Nutting Hall

School of Forest Resources

University of Maine

Orono, ME 04469

(in association with the US Forest Service)

Phone: +1 (207) 581-2842

shawn.fraver@maine.edu

The Zee Lab at the University of Mississippi is seeking enthusiastic

and motivated graduate students (Ph.D. and M.S.) with interests in

community ecology and evolutionary biology to begin Fall 2018. Using a

combination of laboratory experimental ecology/evolution with microbes

and theoretical modeling approaches, we are interested in understanding

how historical and contemporary evolutionary forces influence outcomes

of species interactions in ecological communities. We experimentally

evolve multi-trophic communities of the model bacterium E. coli, the

social bacterium Myxococcus xanthus, and the roundworm C. elegans.

Students will be encouraged to develop and pursue questions centered on

their own research interests and strengths.

Graduate students will be fully supported through teaching and research

asssistantships with a competitive stipend, tuition waivers, and

benefits. Women and underrepresented minorities are encouraged to

apply.

The University of Mississippi is a Carnegie R1 institution undergoing

an exciting phase of growth. The university is located in Oxford, a

vibrant and idyllic college town in northern Mississippi, about 1 hour

south of Memphis, TN. More on the Department of Biology:

https://biology.olemiss.edu/. More on Oxford, MS:

https://biology.olemiss.edu/why-oxford/

Interested students are encouraged to contact Peter Zee (zee at olemiss

dot edu) directly with a description of research interests and

experiences.

Peter C. Zee

Assistant Professor

Department of Biology

University of Mississippi

peterzee.wordpress.com

The Larsen Lab at the University of California, Santa Barbara

(http://www.ashleylarsen.com/) is seeking up to two motivated Ph.D students

interested in food systems and/or conservation to join the lab in Fall 2018.

Our lab studies land use and land use change as it relates to the provision

of ecosystem services (e.g. pest control, food provision) and disservices

(e.g. human disease, biodiversity loss), primarily in agricultural

landscapes and largely using data-driven approaches borrowed from

econometrics, landscape ecology, or conservation planning.=20=20

Candidates with interests in food systems, land use change, or spatial

ecology are encouraged to apply. Incoming Ph.D students will develop

research projects broadly related to ongoing work in the lab, but tailored

to the individual=92s skills and interests. Competitive applicants will have

prior experience, or substantial motivation to gain expertise, in GIS,

econometrics, statistics, economics, or other quantitative research

approaches. However, candidates with academic backgrounds in field or

interdisciplinary research methods are welcome.=20=20

Interested applicants would apply to UCSB=92s Bren School of Environmental

Science & Management. The Bren School (http://www.esm.ucsb.edu/) is a highly

regarded interdisciplinary research program with exceptional faculty and

students across a spectrum of natural, physical, and social sciences.

Students are actively encouraged to develop interdisciplinary research

projects and (disciplinary or multidisciplinary) collaborations with

researchers in Bren and in other top programs including Geography and

Ecology, Evolution & Marine Biology.=20

If interested, please send a current CV with GPA, relevant coursework &amp;

research experiences, and a short statement describing your research

interests to Ashley Larsen (larsen@bren.ucsb.edu). Applications are due

December 15, 2017. Students with diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged

to apply.=20

The Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks has an

opening for an M.S. graduate student to work with Roger Ruess and Donie

Bret-Harte on an NSF-funded project on shrub feedbacks to C and N cycling

along a boreal-arctic transect in northern Alaska.  A widespread shift from

tundra to deciduous shrub-dominated vegetation appears to be underway in

northern Alaska, which could have profound implications for C balance and

biogeochemical cycling. Because much of the Earth=92s soil C is stored in

arctic and boreal regions, changes in the C budgets of these biomes may

feedback strongly to global climate. Biogeochemical C and N cycles are

linked tightly in boreal and arctic ecosystems, and plant production is

strongly N-limited; therefore, N-fixing shrubs affect soil C through their

effects on near-surface soil N, via both SOM turnover and N inputs. The

graduate student will focus on the effects of the growth and ecophysiology

of Siberian alder on biogeochemical cycling across topo-edaphic sequences

along a latitudinal transect from the boreal forest (BNZ LTER) to arctic

tundra (ARC LTER). The student will be expected to develop their own

research questions within the overall framework of the project, and will

have the opportunity to interact with PIs and other graduate students

working on project.  Because research sites are distributed between

Fairbanks and areas north of the Toolik Field Station (see

http://toolik.alaska.edu/), the graduate student will be conducting research

and camping in very rugged/remote terrain.  The student will be supported

through a combination of research assistantships and teaching

assistantships, and expected to begin fieldwork in the summer of 2018, and

coursework in the fall of 2018.  For more information, please contact Roger

Ruess (rwruess@alaska.edu) or Syndonia Bret-Harte (msbretharte@alaska.edu).

You must also apply for graduate study to the Department of Biology and

Wildlife at University of Alaska Fairbanks (see

https://www.bw.uaf.edu/graduates/index.php for application requirements);

the deadline for applications is January 15, 2018.

*Graduate Position in Coastal Ecosystem Ecology at Florida International

University*

*Florida International University, Miami, Florida*

One PhD graduate assistantship is available in the Department of Biological

Sciences at Florida International University (FIU) (http://biology.fiu.edu)

to conduct research in the Florida Everglades, beginning fall 2018.  These

positions are affiliated with the Florida Coastal Everglades Long Term

Ecological Research program (http://fcelter.fiu.edu/) and will include

integrative field and experimental research approaches, and public

outreach.

FIU is a public research university in Miami with a highly diverse,

vibrant, and growing student body located near the eastern boundary of the

Everglades.  The Department of Biological Sciences has strengths in

Ecology, Marine Biology, Botany, Microbiology, Evolution, and

Cellular/Molecular Biology.  The FCE LTER student organization (

http://fcelter.fiu.edu/students/), based at FIU, is a very active community

of over 70 students from multiple departments and institutions who conduct

integrative, multidisciplinary, long-term research.

To be eligible for positions, students must meet FIU graduate admission

requirements and successfully compete for a teaching assistantship to match

existing research assistantship support (http://biology.fiu.edu/graduate).

Highly qualified candidates may be eligible for fully funded Presidential

Fellowships.  The deadline for graduate applications is January 05, 2018,

but early submission (December 2017) is highly encouraged.

*Sea-Level Rise and Saltwater Intrusion in Coastal Ecosystems:*  The

candidate=E2=80=99s research interests should include global environmental change,

wetlands, coastal ecology, and ecosystem ecology, especially

biogeochemistry and organic matter processing. The student will be expected

to develop research related to understanding how sea-level rise and

saltwater intrusion affect net carbon storage in freshwater and brackish

wetlands through altered nutrient subsidies and salinity stresses to soil

microbial and wetland plant communities.  Interested applicants should

contact Dr. John Kominoski (jkominos@fiu.edu) and visit his lab website (

https://kominoskilab.wordpress.com) before applying.

The selected candidate will join an existing collaborative team of graduate

students, FIU faculty, as well as scientists from the South Florida Water

Management District, Everglades National Park, and the Everglades

Foundation, with a shared goal of understanding and forecasting peat

collapse and carbon loss in coastal wetland ecosystems exposed to sea-level

rise and saltwater intrusion.

–=20

John Stephen Kominoski

Assistant Professor

Department of Biological Sciences and

Southeast Environmental Research Center

Florida International University

11200 SW 8th Street

Miami, Florida 33199, USA

Email: jkominos@fiu.edu

Office: +1 305.348.7117

Lab: +1 305.348.6512

Fax: +1 305.348.1986

kominoskilab.wordpress.com

Location: Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota

Dates: June 4 – August 10, 2017; A two-week extension in August is desired.

Pay: $12.50/hr. for undergrads; $14.50/hr. for graduates; Housing is provided

Position Number: 45850

The Nature Conservancy’s GLOBE (Growing Leaders on Behalf of the Environment) summer internship program hires undergraduate students, graduate students, or recent college graduates (2016, 2017, and 2018) to fill paid internship positions during a 10-week summer internship. Our mission is to provide a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between academics and the real-world conservation work that contributes to the health and sustainability of our world. The GLOBE Program recruits individuals from a variety of backgrounds and experiences who are interested in contributing to our conservation goals in various fields. The GLOBE Program offers a structured orientation, professional training, network opportunities, mentoring program, and real work experience.

The Nature Conservancy’s Minnesota Chapter would like two Grassland and Freshwater Restoration GLOBE interns for this project to work as a team and gain exposure to two major science and conservation initiatives within our chapter in both grassland freshwater ecosystems. The two projects are described below. Both interns would spend roughly half the summer working on each project. Interns may also spend the end of the summer and an additional two weeks on forest science field projects in northern Minnesota.

1. TNC is working with partners to determine broad changes in condition of native grasslands in response to grazing and fire. The project is a collaborative effort in which multiple agencies and organizations have overlapping goals (TNC, Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources, USFWS, etc.). Partners in this work are coordinating sampling to compare data and management practices across ownerships throughout the prairie region. With the assistance of the interns, TNC will revisit sites on which management has been implemented to measure the outcomes. The interns will fill a critical role in helping our chapter to close the adaptive management loop in our grassland conservation work.

2. TNC has committed to working with experts to create a technical guidance document for prairie stream systems in western South Dakota. This need was identified by conservation partners within SD who seek this resource to better assist producers and agencies in maintaining and improving range and riparian health. This technical stream guide would provide SD specific knowledge and resources that are currently unavailable to a wide variety of partners, agencies, and landowners. The two GLOBE interns would assist with the fieldwork necessary to accomplish this goal.

Strong field botanical skills and experience conducting field sampling are preferred, but training will be provided for all aspects of the position. Experience working in grasslands or other terrestrial ecosystems of the upper Midwest or Great Plains is a plus. The individual must be willing and able to travel to different properties within the work area. The most important qualification is enthusiasm for working outdoors and the desire to learn. The two Interns will coordinate closely together with the assistance TNC staff. After a training period, they will often be in the field during the day working independently from their direct supervisor, with staff around in the mornings and afternoons for questions and interaction. Therefore, they should be able to work and communicate well with others as well as independently.

For questions about the position, contact Marissa Ahlering, mahlering@tnc.org, but applications must be submitted online. To apply to position number 45850, submit resume and cover letter (both are required) separately using the upload buttons. All applications must be submitted in the system prior to 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on January 12, 2018. Click “submit” to apply for the position or “save for later” to create a draft application for future submission. Once submitted, applications cannot be revised or edited. Failure to complete required fields may result in your application being disqualified from consideration. If you experience technical issues, please refer to our applicant user guide or contact applyhelp@tnc.org.

Apply online here:

https://careers.nature.org/psp/tnccareers/APPLICANT/APPL/c/HRS_HRAM.HRS_APP_SCHJOB.GBL?Page=3DHRS_APP_SCHJOB&Action=3DU&FOCUS=3DApplicant&SiteId=3D1

Marissa Ahlering, Ph.D.

Lead Prairie Ecologist

The Nature Conservancy, MN, ND, SD

Moorhead, MN 56560

PH: 218-512-0476

The Plant Ecology and Remote Sensing Lab in the Department of Environmental

Sciences at the University of Virginia is seeking Ph.D. students interested

in studying the climate-vegetation interactions from leaf to global scales.

We have projects using field observations, controlled experiments, and

satellite remote sensing to understand the vegetation photosynthetic

response to various environmental variables using a novel metric =E2=80=93

solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence. We also use drone-based and

airborne-based remote sensing with fluorescence, hyperspectral and thermal

remote sensing in combination with eddy covariance measurements to

understand key questions in ecosystem carbon and water cycling. Students=E2=

=80=99

research projects are flexible and depend on their interests.

Highly-motivated students with a background in remote sensing, ecosystem

ecology, ecophysiology, or land surface modeling would be strong fits.

Interested students should send a CV with GPA, GRE, and TOEFL (if

applicable), and a brief statement of research interests to Dr. Xi Yang (

xiyang@virginia.edu). Please email with the title =E2=80=9CUVa Ph.D. Progra=

m [Your

name]=E2=80=9D. The application deadline for the Department of Environmenta=

l

Sciences is January 15th, 2018.

Information about the Plant Ecology and Remote Sensing lab is here:

http://ecors.evsc.virginia.edu/.

Information about the Department of Environmental Sciences can be found at:

http://www.evsc.virginia.edu/.

The University of Virginia (UVa) has been ranked No.3 in all public

universities in the United States, and Charlottesville (where the

university locates) has been ranked as one of the best college towns.

UVa provides a competitive package for graduate students, including

stipends, health insurance, and other benefits.

-Xi

———————–

Xi Yang

Assistant Professor

Department of Environmental Sciences

390 Clark Hall, University of Virginia

291 McCormick Rd, Charlottesville, VA, 22904

xiyang@virginia.edu

434-924-8679

website: http://ecors.evsc.virginia.edu/