The University of Virginia is seeking an M.S. student in Environmental Sciences to study the impact of neonicotinoid pesticide migration from agricultural fields into surrounding vegetation on pollinator survival and development. The research will focus on monarch butterflies and solitary cavity nesting bees and comprise both field and greenhouse work. Field work will begin summer 2019 with coursework starting in fall 2019. Project is fully funded (no teaching requirements) and housing is available during the summer at Blandy Experimental Farm. Student should have prior experience working with insects, especially bees or Lepidoptera. If interested, please contact T’ai Roulston (tai.roulston@virginia.edu).
Opportunities
GraduatePosition: Purdue University_Rapid Evolution
A PhD position is available in lab of Mark Christie at Purdue University. A position is available for highly-motivated candidates interested in rapid genetic adaptation, population genetics, and conservation in general. For more information about our research please visit: https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchristielab.bio.purdue.edu&data=02%7C01%7Cmiranda.l.davis%40uconn.edu%7C9842beea59de498748ab08d655eec41f%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C636790881321693332&sdata=32SIANm9iuUDtmldKPK2VH9Etbd6rQ3UKaPREwaCtx8%3D&reserved=0
Potential projects include: 1. Examining the rapid genetic adaptation of introduced fishes into the Great Lakes, 2. Identifying the genetic and evolutionary consequences of domestication, captive breeding, and supplementation of wild populations, and 3. Using existing and novel approaches to determine patterns of dispersal, gene flow, and local adaptation within a metapopulation context. These are the main research themes in the Christie laboratory, and research often focuses on fishes, but graduate students are free to explore independent lines of inquiry in any system. Previous research experience with molecular techniques, computational work, statistics, bioinformatics, and assisting with the design and implementation of experiments will be highly regarded.
If you are interested in joining the lab, please contact me directly at markchristie1500@gmail.com or christ99@purdue.edu with a CV and a brief description of your research interests and experience. Applications are due December 7th.
MS assistanship in forest modeling/forest ecology at Penn State
A MS graduate assistantship is available in forest modeling/forest ecology at Penn State. The student will be part of a multidisciplinary team assessing and modeling an invasive insect effect on forest ecosystems. Students can enroll in the Ecology or the Forest Resources graduate programs. Excellent quantitative, GIS, and field skills required. Those interested please send CV, transcripts and GRE scores to Laura Leites at lpl3@psu.edu.
American Museum of Natural History Helen Fellowship Announcement
Dear Colleague, The BridgeUP: STEM program at the AMNH is excited to announce that the application for the Helen Fellowship is now open. This fellowship is a one-year residency for post-baccalaureate women to devote time immersed in computational scientific research and educational outreach at the AMNH. This fellowship is an initiative at the AMNH dedicated to increasing the diversity of the talent pipeline by providing underrepresented students access to the skills and tools required for the 21st Century. To learn more about the fellowship and the application process, visithttps://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/higher-education/helen-fellowship. A colorful PDF flyer can be downloaded at this website. Who is eligible to apply? The fellowship is intended for recent college graduates with a conferred bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, natural sciences, applied mathematics, computational science, or other relevant majors prior to the fellowship start date in September. What are the benefits? Fellows will receive an annual salary of $70,000 plus generous benefits. Funding is also available for research, travel and equipment expenses. How do I apply? The online application is now open and is due by January 20, 2019. To learn more about application requirements, visithttps://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/higher-education/helen-fellowship. With Regards, The BridgeUP: STEM Team Email: bridgeupstem@amnh.org
Graduate student Position in Marine Fisheries Ecology at The University of Texas at Austin
Subject: Graduate student Position in Marine Fisheries Ecology at The University of Texas at Austin
A graduate research assistantship is available in the Coastal Fisheries Research Program (http://fisheries.utexas.edu) and Brad Erisman’s lab at The University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute (https://utmsi.utexas.edu/). The position is open to students seeking either an M.S. or a Ph.D degree. The position is scheduled to begin in August 2019 in coordination with the Fall 2019 semester at UT Austin with the option of starting earlier in the summer.
We seek applicants that are interested in the fields of fisheries ecology and the reproductive biology, behavioral ecology, life history, population dynamics, management, and/or conservation of marine fishes. The student’s research topic is flexible within these fields but is expected to align with existing and pending research projects that explore spatio-temporal interactions between fishes, fisheries, and climate in the Gulf of Mexico (http://fisheries.utexas.edu/blog-masonry/). Students will have opportunities to receive training and experience in a wide range of areas including fish bioacoustics and acoustic monitoring, fisheries independent sampling, boating and diving, and fisheries/climate modeling. In addition to research and training associated with their thesis, the student will be expected to be actively involved in and provide support to all active projects in the lab.
Applicants should be highly motivated, have a strong academic background, show evidence of independent work in the field and/or lab, and demonstrate a capacity to contribute to a diverse collaborative research environment. Prior training and experience in operating small boats, collecting and processing fish samples, research diving, and/or conducting fieldwork offshore are preferred but not required. Strong quantitative skills and proficiency with R or other statistical software are also valuable.
For more information, please email a statement of interest/background and a copy of your CV to Brad Erisman (berisman@utexas.edu). Please note that students are highly encouraged to submit their formal applications to the UT Graduate School by December 1st and no later than December 10, 2018.
Links:
CFRP/Erisman Lab: http://fisheries.utexas.edu
Recent publications by Brad Erisman: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brad_Erisman/research
Current Project on Fish Spawning Aggregations in the Gulf of Mexico: https://geo.gcoos.org/restore/
UTMSI graduate program:
https://utmsi.utexas.edu/academics/graduate/admission-information
Summer Research Fellowships (Undergrad, Grad, Postdoc) at UVA Field Station
Subject: Summer Research Fellowships (Undergrad, Grad, Postdoc) at UVA Field Station
University of Virginia’s Blandy Experimental Farm has some wonderful fellowship opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students and postdocs during summer 2019. The opportunities are open to applicants from any college or university.
Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU):
The program emphasizes experimental ecology and evolutionary biology including a wide variety of topics such as plant-animal interactions, pollinator behavior and ecology, insect population ecology, and ecosystem ecology. Successful applicants will receive a $6325 stipend, additional money for food, and free housing. Each student picks a research mentor from our pool of faculty members and graduate students and then conducts a novel research project. The students will gain experience in experimental design, data collection, analytical techniques, and written and oral presentation of findings. REU students also benefit from several professional development workshops.
This is a wonderful opportunity for an undergraduate student contemplating a future in science. The application deadline is March 1, 2019.
Graduate and Postdoc Research Fellowships:
Are you a graduate student or postdoc in need of a field station? Summer stipends ($6000 per summer), free on-site housing, and funds for research ($1000 per summer) are available for individuals proposing original research that uses our resources and facilities and contributes to the ongoing science program at the station.
Interested students/postdocs should contact one of the Blandy faculty members listed below to discuss conducting your research at Blandy. You can direct your inquiries based on the faculty member with the closest match to your research interests; however, we are open to people working in all fields of environmental, ecological, and evolutionary research.
Keep in mind this is not a complete fellowship package, rather it provides summer financial support and access to our facilities to supplement existing support from your home institution.
Dr. Kyle Haynes (population and landscape ecology, forest insect dynamics) Dr. David Carr (plant reproductive ecology, inbreeding and genetic variation) Dr. T’ai Roulston (pollination, plant-animal interactions, bee biology)
For more information about the station: https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fblandy.virginia.edu%2Fresearch&data=02%7C01%7Cmiranda.l.davis%40uconn.edu%7C817bb717dfac4da3f44808d6551ff5f6%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C636789993096332525&sdata=n8YotlbRUVw8Wi%2FewaQRHV0sJxobfozCu3rbJzwsI34%3D&reserved=0.
Grad Position: Antarctic Evolutionary Ecology
I’m looking for grad students who are interested in addressing evolutionary ecology questions, focusing on soil ecosystems, starting Fall of 2019. The 5-year, fully funded positions include a $24k/yr stipend, full tuition scholarship, health insurance, supplemental travel funds ($800/yr) and a broad range of academic and recreational benefits*.
Dissertation projects will focus on core hypotheses associated with the McMurdo Dry Valley LTER research group (http://mcmlter.org), primarily the characterization of soil ecosystem responses to climate variation. Our hypotheses are informed by approaches including community and autecology, ecological genomics, comparative phylogeography, elemental stoichiometry, molecular evolution, and metagenomics/transcriptomics. Most (but not all) projects will require conducting field work in Antarctica.
*BYU is located in Provo, Utah, where opportunities for world-class skiing, snowboarding, fly-fishing, kayaking, hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking, and many other outdoor recreational activities are less than 20 minutes from the lab. There are several festivals during the year in different areas of the county and Provo is home to a vibrant music scene. Salt Lake City is only 45 minutes travel by car or commuter rail. BYU is a private institution run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Students are required to uphold to a standard of personal conduct. For more information on this standard, please visit the Honor Code Office website (https://honorcode.byu.edu/).
For full consideration, complete applications should be received by January 15, 2019, but late applications can be considered through the first part of February.
If any of this looks interesting to you, drop me a line:
Byron Adams
bjadams@byu.edu
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=oASVdOIAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
Masters/PhD in Landscape Ecology and Remote Sensing at the University of Nevada, Reno
Masters/PhD in Landscape Ecology and Remote Sensing at the University of Nevada, Reno
Dr. Jonathan Greenberg and the Global Environmental Analysis and Remote Sensing (GEARS) Laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno are now inviting applications for Doctoral or Master’s work that will start in Fall of 2019 for students interested in the following topics:
Remote Sensing Science: Students should be interested in developing advanced remote sensing algorithms, particularly those that leverage high performance computing and machine learning algorithms. GEARS is interested in the following general topics:
– Computer vision techniques applied to high spatial resolution LiDAR and optical remote sensing imagery including data collected from airborne and terrestrial laser scanners, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles.
– Change detection and time series analysis of multitemporal remote sensing image datasets, particularly as it applies to multitemporal LiDAR, hyperspatial optical, and “hypertemporal” datasets such as Landsat and MODIS.
Previous programming experience and a background in remote sensing, GIS, and/or computer vision is highly recommended.
Landscape Level Plant-Climate Interactions: Students should be interested in applying remote sensing, GIS, and modeling to the following questions at local to global scales:
– How do plants respond to their climate at regional to global scales scales?
– What will be the future state of vegetated ecosystems under climate change?
– How do non-climate factors such as natural and anthropogenic disturbance impact the past, present, and future distribution of plants?
A degree or background in biogeography, environmental science, ecology, and/or biology is encouraged for applicants, as well as previous experience in remote sensing and GIS and/or ecosystem modeling.
Prospective graduate students will be expected to develop their own research goals, and should have curiosity, motivation, and independence. Prospective students should email a short summary of their research interests as well as a CV to Dr. Greenberg jgreenberg@unr.edu before applying to the program. Funding will be available from a variety of sources, including fellowships, research assistantships, and teaching assistantships.
Prospective PhD students should apply to the Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology graduate program (http://www.unr.edu/eecb) and prospective Master’s students should apply to the Natural Resources and Environmental Science program (https://www.unr.edu/nres).
Ph.D. Assistantship in Arctic Estuarine Ecology
Subject: Ph.D. Assistantship in Arctic Estuarine Ecology
A Ph.D. research assistantship is available (beginning summer 2019) in Ken Dunton’s lab at the University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute (https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Futmsi.utexas.edu%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cmiranda.l.davis%40uconn.edu%7Cb13a14816cec41dd4c0908d6551fc7d5%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C636789992322094841&sdata=Tw305pMT8bNToJF5kHUi7DFJ9MjD2gnEHZ4XOPw656Y%3D&reserved=0). This position is part of an interdisciplinary program funded by the National Science Foundation to study the benthic ecology of Beaufort Sea lagoons within a newly established LTER located on Alaska’s northern Arctic coast. The student’s research would focus on the resilience of Arctic estuarine benthic communities, with emphasis on how intertidal and subtidal communities respond to extremes in ice, salinity, and hypoxia. This includes studies that examine seasonal and spatial patterns in invertebrate population structure to address mechanisms of persistence, migration, recovery, and trophic linkages with key consumers. We seek applicants with a background in estuarine and/or marine science with a degree in biology, ecology, environmental science, or closely related fields. The student is expected to develop an integrative field and experimental project that incorporates fundamentally new and innovative approaches to questions of disturbance and resilience in benthic populations. Applicants should have a strong academic background, show evidence of independent work in the field and/or lab, and demonstrate a capacity to contribute to a collaborative research environment. For more information, please email a statement of interest/background and a copy of your CV to Ken Dunton (ken.dunton@utexas.edu). Note that students are encouraged to submit their formal applications to the UT Graduate School no later than December 10, 2018.
Links:
Dunton Lab: https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=www.utmsi.utexas.edu%2Fstaff%2Fdunton&data=02%7C01%7Cmiranda.l.davis%40uconn.edu%7Cb13a14816cec41dd4c0908d6551fc7d5%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C636789992322104849&sdata=E1sbdaYTYmzwrzcXGiYn1GgUghmwGnf75U%2FBZRTE9II%3D&reserved=0 Beaufort Lagoon Ecosystems LTER website: https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fble.lternet.edu%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cmiranda.l.davis%40uconn.edu%7Cb13a14816cec41dd4c0908d6551fc7d5%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C636789992322104849&sdata=FaJ6ZUzXj0GUz7Lb7dlghYW77lrdebl9aUwsF6W3HfI%3D&reserved=0 UTMSI graduate program:
https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Futmsi.utexas.edu%2Facademics%2Fgraduate%2Fadmission-information&data=02%7C01%7Cmiranda.l.davis%40uconn.edu%7Cb13a14816cec41dd4c0908d6551fc7d5%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C636789992322104849&sdata=zSweZljcNBTI2bZnf7AtMCM8rwXtxV5D3mZCBXfGWw8%3D&reserved=0
MS Position: Evolutionary Ecological Restoration
Subject: MS Position: Evolutionary Ecological Restoration
Local adaptation in restoration: scale and extent of local adaptation in native prairie species
A MS position in evolution evolutionary restoration ecology is available to adaptation to environment of native prairie plant species with Jill Hamilton at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota and Marissa Ahlering, Lead Prairie Ecologist, The Nature Conservancy in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Identifying the appropriate seed sources for restoration efforts can be challenging, particularly for geographically isolated populations where historical isolation or contemporary fragmentation may have contributed to differentiation in adaptive traits across a species range and in the face of changing climate. In this project we will map and collect seeds for a variety of prairie plant species to be used in restoration efforts. Select seeds sourced from a range of environments will be used in an experimental setting to examine the impact varying water availability may have on plant fitness. The interaction between seed source and changing availability of water across the Great Plains; including an increased frequency of extremes may have dramatic consequences to restoration success. This research will aim to identify genetic differences in physiological traits for seeds sourced from a range of environments across the Great Plains to inform selection of seed sourcing for future restoration.
The ideal MS student will be prepared to identify plants and lead field-based research mapping and collecting seeds across the Great Plains (ND, SD, and MN). In addition, the student will establish a greenhouse experiment to experimentally evaluate physiological trait variation in response to varying degrees of water availability in a variety of seed sources for one of the mapped species. There is plenty of room to pursue particular interests in adaptive trait variation depending on the interest and experience of the candidate. The student will also be involved in outreach activities associated with the project engaging local state and TNC stakeholders in applied research. Ability to work independently in the field, alongside basic botany identification skills and GIS expertise is required. Some experience in quantitative analysis in R, and previous experience evaluating physiological trait variation in a greenhouse is preferred.
For more information on the Hamilton Lab please visit the lab website at:https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jillahamilton.com&data=02%7C01%7Cmiranda.l.davis%40uconn.edu%7C26858379e1d443a84c6508d6551fb665%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C636789992041520130&sdata=QUuTo%2F%2FnXDZSQLmN5A7OCDcjlz3w8%2BEyoJ6bUicUgBM%3D&reserved=0 and Lead Prairie Ecologist with The Nature Conservancy, Marissa Ahlering at https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.researchgate.net%2Fprofile%2FMarissa_Ahlering&data=02%7C01%7Cmiranda.l.davis%40uconn.edu%7C26858379e1d443a84c6508d6551fb665%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C636789992041520130&sdata=lNcPJivTS4O5YvY%2FYU4r0z7CUY8kQYDb6oe87Tf%2BM6Y%3D&reserved=0. More information on the Department of Biological Sciences at NDSU can be found athttps://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ndsu.edu%2Fbiology%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cmiranda.l.davis%40uconn.edu%7C26858379e1d443a84c6508d6551fb665%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C636789992041520130&sdata=E9MoW19NkM%2Bg1z5Mz7AdWVtYBb42avLLVSxafXhVEWE%3D&reserved=0. Fargo is the largest city in the northern Midwest and as ‘Gateway to the West’ is a vibrant, growing community that has access to numerous outdoor opportunities for all seasons.
Interested students are encouraged to contact Dr. Hamilton (jill.hamilton@ndsu.edu) and Dr. Ahlering (mahlering@TNC.ORG) by December 17th.
Please include a brief description of your research interests, experience, and a CV in your email. Funding options are available for both US students and international students and include a full tuition waiver. Tentative start date is May 2019.