This 6-week field class is especially good for Environmental Science and Environmental Studies majors, as well as anyone who would enjoy an immersive experience in the great outdoors of Wyoming:

GEOL 1950 Wyoming Field Studies in Ecology and Paleontology (6 credits)

Instructors:  Mandi Lyon of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Dr. Steve Latta of the National Aviary

Dr. Charles E. Jones, University of Pittsburgh

Do you love nature?  Wildlife?  Being outside?  Fossils?  Science?

This class is an amazing opportunity to spend 6 weeks exploring the rich, natural treasures of Wyoming.  The first 4.5 weeks are split between Pitt’s very own 6,000 acre nature preserve and the Medicine Bow Mountains near Laramie, WY.  The preserve is a relatively arid mixed-grass prairie with several water holes that attract birds and other wildlife.  The snow-covered Medicine Bow Mountains reach up to 12,000’ and feature forests, mountain streams, and crystal-clear lakes.  The coursework consists of learning how to collect ecologic and geologic data to understand the modern and ancient ecology of the region.  The fossil resources cover some one billion years of time, but perhaps of greatest interest are the Jurassic dinosaur bones found within Pitt’s Spring Creek Preserve.  This first part of the class culminates in a week-long independent research project devised by each student.

The last 10 days of the class feature a camping and hiking trip around the state that includes several days in the spectacular landscapes of Yellowstone National Park and the Tetons.

This class involves real work and real skills-building, but it also is a great opportunity to see diverse arrays of western birds, mammals and plants, as well as some amazing geology.  This class is an awesome experience!

For more details and to sign up, visit https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=www.abroad.pitt.edu%2Fspringcreek&data=02%7C01%7Ceric.schultz%40uconn.edu%7C0c7b7a916a6e4a34ac4908d6a08abd7a%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C636872915091108179&sdata=vC27t%2BRxC6hmLVhQTu2ObNBPowJrFfZ9JhtWL9QZPuU%3D&reserved=0

Application deadline is March 24, 2019

Offered by the Department of Geology and Environmental Science

at the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Background: The Wyoming toad (Anaxyrus baxteri) is a critically endangered species endemic to the Laramie Basin. The species was abundant in the 1950’s and 1960’s but began declining in the 1970’s until the last known individuals were brought into captivity in the 1990’s to establish a captive breeding program. Individuals from the captive breeding program have been reintroduced into the wild, but self-sustaining breeding populations have not been reestablished. Research and monitoring is being conducted to assess progress the status of wild populations, including the effects of vegetation treatments.

Location: This position is based out of Laramie, Wyoming. Field work will occur at Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge (approximately 15 miles southwest of Laramie) and several Safe Harbor reintroductions sites within the Laramie Basin.

Description: 2-3 technicians to assist with regular field duties including:

•    Building and installing soft release enclosures for tadpoles and adults

•    Daily feeding and measuring of tadpoles

•    Release and subsequent monitoring of adult toads

•    Extensive radio telemetry of release toads throughout the field season

•    Regular surveys for non-captive Wyoming toads

•    Swabbing of toads for Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd)

•    Data entry

•    Other activities as needed

Qualifications: Qualified applicants will have the willingness and ability to work long hours (including weekends and holidays) and be flexible with their schedule, as work hours will be determined by animal needs. Applicants must also be able to tolerate harsh field conditions (heat/cold, wind, rain, biting insects, mud, etc.), pay extreme attention to detail, and meet high standards of animal care. Interest in the research, a strong work ethic, and the ability to conduct meticulous data collection for the recovery of an endangered species are most important. Priority will be given to individuals currently enrolled in or recently graduated from an ecology, wildlife biology, or related program with past field experience. Qualified applicants need a valid driver’s license with a clean driving record.

Compensation: Technicians will be paid $400-$440 per week (depending on experience) and provided with a shared field vehicle. Technicians will gain valuable field experience while contributing to the recovery of a critically endangered amphibian.

Duration: The position will start mid-May and continue through mid-August with the potential for some technician(s) to continue through September (start and end dates may be flexible for highly qualified applicants and field season may be adjusted due to weather conditions).

To Apply: Submit a letter of interest with dates of availability, résumé or CV, and contact information (name, email, phone number) for three references in a single PDF to Dr. Melanie Murphy (melanie.murphy@uwyo.edu).  Application deadline is March 8th, 2019 but review of applicants will begin immediately and will continue until the positions are filled. Questions about the positions can be directed to Dr. Melanie Murphy (melanie.murphy@uwyo.edu) or Dr. Doug Keinath (douglas_keinath@fws.gov).

Additional Information: This research is being conducted through a collaboration between the Murphy Lab at the University of Wyoming (for more information see https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmurphylandscapegenetics.com&data=02%7C01%7Ceric.schultz%40uconn.edu%7C0c7b7a916a6e4a34ac4908d6a08abd7a%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C636872915091098174&sdata=g%2B8%2BiKH53rWyQiNM7UGqkAWmXiqtG2sXsqMXm2s8bjQ%3D&reserved=0) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

To view this message on the web, go to:

https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcommunity.esa.org%2Fm.htm%3Fm%3Dv%26hid%3D223707&data=02%7C01%7Ceric.schultz%40uconn.edu%7C0c7b7a916a6e4a34ac4908d6a08abd7a%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C636872915091108179&sdata=EbdQXFoyuv41VDc4SjGK9Sbkfo2XRCjGj891ORXibSg%3D&reserved=0

Job Description:  The USDA, Agriculture Research Service, Northern Plains Agriculture Research Laboratory in Sidney, MT is seeking an enthusiastic and hard-working individual to serve as a biological science aide.  Our research focuses on grassland insect and rangeland ecology; specifically how interactions between grasshoppers and Mormon crickets affect Mormon cricket and grasshopper diets, insect immunity to pathogens, and grassland health. Work may include sampling grasshoppers, Mormon crickets, and other rangeland insects in large scale experiments, sampling rangeland plants, setting up and conducting manipulative experiments in the field and lab.  Most field work will be conducted in subalpine meadows at 9000 feet elevation in the Bighorn Mountains in northern Wyoming. A willingness to drive on overnight travel to sites in Wyoming will be required.

Salary: $11.68 – 12.74 per hour (GS-2 – GS-3) dependent on experience and education.  Dorm-style, shared housing is available on location for approximately $150 per month, including utilities, internet and basic cable TV.

Dates: Starting May 12 – June 9 and continuing through the end of August to the end of October, depending on a candidate’s availability.

Qualifications: The candidate must be a US citizen.  Additionally, the candidate should be physically fit, able to walk rapidly over rangeland, and comfortable spending long hours outside at high elevation. The candidate will need a driver’s license.  Willingness to work long days, and some weekends when necessary is also a must.  Undergraduate course work in ecology, entomology, range or environmental sciences, and previous field work experience is preferred, but not required.

Application process: Please send cover letter, resume, and names and contact information of two references (electronically) to Robert Srygley (robert.srygley@ars.usda.gov).  Be sure to include available start and end dates. In your cover letter and please describe any experience or coursework you have in relevant areas such as field ecology, entomology, or plant identification In your cover letter or resume.

Evaluation of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. For more information on the grasshopper and Mormon cricket research program visit: https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=www.ars.usda.gov%2Fpa%2Fnparl%2Frsrygley&data=02%7C01%7Ceric.schultz%40uconn.edu%7Ca8945301eab54c7fdff408d69ef913ea%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C636871190030243179&sdata=aBa8TTM7tj6eZBOIHGqM5WET7T7GSjEDBFYHFDfcIos%3D&reserved=0 or contact us directly.

We have one REU position available for a student to conduct a research project within a large-scale, replicated experiment on conservation corridors in South Carolina throughout the summer of 2019.  The REU will be mentored by Dr. John Orrock (Associate Professor at UW-Madison) and Savannah Bartel (PhD student at UW-Madison, Orrock Lab member).

We will work with the student to develop a project centered around the general question: “How does patch geometry modify predator-prey interactions and the foraging decisions of mammalian prey?” Within this general framework, the REU will have the opportunity to select specific questions and hypotheses to test.

The REU will conduct fieldwork over the summer of 2019 (~May-August). The student will receive a stipend ($6000), along with an offset to living expenses ($600). All research expenses will be covered. The student will live close to our field station (USFS Savannah River), near Aiken, SC.

Interested undergraduates should contact Savannah Bartel (bartel2@wisc.edu) with a copy of their CV or resume, a brief statement of interest (~1 paragraph), and the contact information of one reference.

Applications due by March 18th.

MS opportunity: Clemson University’s Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science, based in Georgetown, South Carolina, is seeking a highly motivated BS graduate to study mangrove ecosystem ecology at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in south Florida (Sanibel Island). This experimental research will assist scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in linking nutrient amendment (N and P) as a physiological stress to water use in the refuge’s 3 mangrove species.  This research will contribute to larger questions related to soil CO2 flux, net ecosystem exchange of carbon, and forest growth as part of how the capacity for carbon sequestration changes as nutrients are added to the Caloosahatchee River upstream of the refuge into the future. Methodology will involve and require that the successful candidate have instrumentation skills and can utilize Dynamax sap flow equipment (heat dissipation technique), Li-6800 (transpiration, net photosynthesis, and stomatal conductance), Li-8100 (soil gas flux), and atmospheric data from a nearby weather station after an appropriate training period. Federal DOI boating certification will be provided and required. A $17k annual stipend will be provided for up to 2.5 years but studies could progress into new hypothesis tests and ideas leading to the potential for a Ph.D. if additional funding can be found. Housing in south Florida for this project is provided (~1/3 of the time), but housing is the responsibility of the student while on campus when in residence at Clemson University in South Carolina (~2/3 of the time). If interested, email a short summary of your research interests, unofficial transcript(s), and your current CV to Dr. Jamie A. Duberstein (jdubers@clemson.edu).

MS in Biology: The Chabot, Doherty, Jolles, and Son labs at Plymouth State University are seeking graduate students to fill funded positions investigating horseshoe crab behavior and physiology, the genetics of atherosclerosis, plant ecology and evolution, and Vibrio cholera pathogenesis respectively. The positions include research assistantships and tuition waivers. Research and course work will take place in or near beautiful Plymouth, NH located in the White Mountains and Lakes Region of New Hampshire as well as at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, and Great Bay, NH. Expected outcomes include co-authorship in peer-reviewed scientific papers, presentations, and preparation of grant proposals.

If you are interested in applying for these positions, please see our research pages athttps://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=www.plymouth.edu%2Facademics%2Fundergraduate-academic-programs%2Fbiology%2Fbiology%2Ffaculty%2F&data=02%7C01%7Ceric.schultz%40uconn.edu%7Ca8945301eab54c7fdff408d69ef913ea%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C636871190030223169&sdata=jC%2F6nJtGtdvgFEXPIz7xncowxHqrZoW56juDu4cToFI%3D&reserved=0  and send (1) a short introductory email stating your research/career interests, (2) C.V.; (3) unofficial transcripts; and (4) a list of three references who are willing to write letters on your behalf as a single PDF file to Chris Chabot , Heather Doherty  Diana Jolles ddjolles@plymouth.edu, or Mike Son . Applicants must have a Bachelor’s degree in Biology or related field. Preference will be given to those who can begin in May or June, 2019. Review of applicants will begin immediately. Official transcripts and application will be required for admittance into PSU.

Ever wondered about how stress affects the body or why some individuals are more resilient than others?

If so, join our research team and learn more about it!

The Heidinger lab in the Department of Biological Sciences at North Dakota State University (NDSU) in Fargo, ND, is seeking undergraduate students to participate in a project examining the long-term consequences of stress exposure in a local population of house sparrows. There is one full time National Science Foundation-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) position and several volunteer positions. Duties will include manipulating stress exposure, monitoring parental behavior, checking nests, and measuring offspring growth. Successful applicants must be enthusiastic and motivated. They must work well independently and as part of a research team. If interested please email 1) a cover letter describing your interest in the project and previous research experience, 2) a resume, and 3) the names of two references to Rebecca Young (rebecca.c.young at ndsu.edu) by April 1, 2018. Positions will run May-August. Salary $500/week and housing will be provided.