Positions

Two PhD students are sought to study the influences of habitat connectivity, landscape phenology, climate, transportation infrastructure, or land-cover transitions on North American bird populations and communities.  Possible directions of research include but are not limited to interaction or cumulative effects of these ecological conditions and human dimensions (e.g., social, economic, cultural, or demographic factors).  Students will have considerable latitude and assistance with developing the direction of their work.  National and regional databases will be available for analysis and will enable unique perspectives and new syntheses regarding the macroecological drivers of avian population and community dynamics.  The overarching goals of this work are to improve understanding of the broad-scale ecological and human factors that drive short- and long-term flux in bird populations and communities, and to use this knowledge to inform avian conservation policy, planning, and implementation.  The positions will start in the fall of 2018 in the Department of Biology at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.  Baylor is ranked as a Higher Research Activity institution in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.  The Biology PhD Program is housed in spacious modern facilities, and faculty mentors work closely with each of their doctoral students.  Coupled with the low cost of living in Waco and significant financial support, these positions offer outstanding opportunities for those pursuing a career in ecological research and its application in conservation.

Qualifications

Applicants must have a Master of Science degree in a relevant field.  Training and experience with GIS and statistical methods, through prior coursework or research activities, are essential.  Students should have a strong interest in developing additional expertise in GIS and quantitative methods.  Preference will be given to those who have published quantitative ecological research, who have presented research at scientific meetings, and who have experience working with large databases.  Competitive applicants will have undergraduate and graduate GPAs of 3.5 or higher, verbal and quantitative GRE scores at or above the 70th percentile, and a GRE analytical writing score of 5.0 or greater.  Students with some but not all of these credentials will be considered and are encouraged to submit an application.

Compensation

For up to 5 years, and depending on qualifications, each position will include teaching-assistantship funding ($24,000-$32,000/12 months), tuition remission (up to 20 credits/12 months), health insurance benefits (80% of cost of premium covered), and funding for travel to professional meetings.  Support for a research assistantship may replace some of the teaching assistantship funding during the course of the student’s program.

Application Instructions

To apply, create a single pdf that includes: a letter of interest that describes your career goals and that specifically addresses the position requirements; a resume; unofficial undergraduate and graduate transcripts; unofficial general GRE scores (no more than 5 years old by early February 2018) including percentile information; and a list of three references and their institution, email address, and phone number.  Before submitting an application, carefully consider the requirements for a PhD degree by examining the Department of Biology Graduate Student Handbook (http://www.baylor.edu/biology).  Email your pdf to Professor Kevin Gutzwiller (https://sites.baylor.edu/kevin_gutzwiller), and contact him with questions about the positions.  The deadline for applications is 1 December 2017.

Review Process

After a review of applications, Professor Gutzwiller will invite the most qualified applicants to apply formally to the Ph.D. Program in Biology.  An all-expenses-paid campus visit will be offered to the applicants in the departmental pool that are the most qualified.  Final decisions about admission and an offer of an assistantship will be made by the Baylor Graduate School and the Biology Graduate Committee.

I am looking to recruit a graduate student for Fall 2018 to study the evolutionary interplay of behavior and morphology in the context of sexual selection.

Research in my lab focuses on sexual selection in insects, examining the importance of nutritional and social environments both for the expression of sexually-selected traits and for the process of selection itself. We primarily work on leaf-footed bugs, Family Coreidae. These insects wrestle with their hind legs over territories and have an amazing diversity of hind leg shapes. Ongoing projects in the lab include studies of trade-offs between weapons and testes; the effect of nutrition and social environments on weapon structure, testes size, and male fighting behavior; and the factors influencing mate choice. We are currently reconstructing a phylogeny of the group to test hypotheses of weapon shape evolution.

The successful applicant for this position can choose to work locally in Florida or pursue international field work, at a location such as the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. Prospective students are encouraged to email Christine W. Miller at cwmiller@ufl.edu by November 8th (later inquiries might also be considered). Include in your email a statement including:

1) the kinds of research questions that you would like to pursue, 2) how these fit in with current lab research,

3) a brief overview of your previous academic and research experiences,

4) CV or resume, 5) GRE scores (if you have them), and 6) an unofficial transcript.

Accepted students will be provided a tuition waiver and a competitive stipend. For more information please visit www.millerlab.net.

Information about Gainesville, Florida:

Situated in the rolling countryside of north central Florida, Gainesville is much more than a stereotypical college town. Home of the University of Florida, seat of Alachua County’s government and the region’s commercial hub, it is progressive, environmentally conscious and culturally diverse. The presence of many students and faculty from abroad among its 99,000-plus population adds a strong cross-cultural flavor to its historic small-town Southern roots. Its natural environment, temperate climate and civic amenities make Gainesville a beautiful, pleasant, and interesting place in which to learn and to live.

Time and time again, Gainesville has been named one of Florida’s most liveable cities and ranked among the leaders in the United States – a reputation created by an exceptional combination of local features. Agreeable weather and lovely landscapes, attractive educational and economic opportunities, varied cultural and recreational resources, and a youthful, energetic ambiance all contribute to the standard of living enjoyed by area residents.

Christine W. Miller  | University of Florida Associate Professor of Entomology Entomology & Nematology Department

phone: (352) 273-3917 web: www.MillerLab.net  facebook: @bugweapons

*The Tingley Lab* in Global Change Ecology in the Department of Ecology and

Evolutionary Biology at the *University of Connecticut* seeks creative and

motivated PhD students to join the lab in the Summer/Fall of 2018. Our

research utilizes field data and biodiversity data to explore how

large-scale anthropogenic drivers of change (e.g., climate change, land-use

change, fire regimes) affect geographic distributions and community

interactions over short to long timespans, from years to centuries. Most of

our research explores these topics using birds as the primary study

organism.

Potential research topics include (but are not limited to) 1)

distributional ecology and the mechanisms that define range limits; 2)

temporal change in communities; 3) quantitative methods to understand

spatiotemporal ecological processes; and/or 4) using historical field data

to understand processes of change. Research projects will have

opportunities to draw from extensive existing databases, continental-scale

biodiversity data, as well as collect new field data at current field sites

in eastern and western U.S. mountain ranges. Enthusiasm, excellent written

and oral communication abilities, and strong quantitative skills are

necessary. Backgrounds in ornithology, modeling, and statistics are desired.

*Application process*

Interested and qualified candidates should read through the lab=E2=80=99s

Frequently Asked Questions (http://www.morgantingley.com/join/) and send an

email describing their motivation and research interests along with, at

minimum, a CV, GPA, and GRE scores to morgan.tingley[AT]uconn.edu. Strong

applicants will be contacted for scheduling an informal interview in person

or over the phone. Applications to UConn are due December 15th. Financial

support students is available from research assistantships, teaching

assistantships, and university fellowships, but applications to outside

funding sources are strongly encouraged.

*About the University of Connecticut*

*The University of Connecticut (UConn) has been one of the nation=E2=80=99s leading

public institutions since its founding in 1881. Located in Storrs, UConn=E2=80=99s

main campus is situated in the picturesque rolling forests and fields

quintessential of New England, yet is only 30 minutes from Hartford, and

has close connections to Providence, Boston and New York. The Department of

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology consists of over 30 faculty and 60

graduate students with research spanning nearly all major groups of

organisms. The Department maintains close ties with the Departments of

Physiology and Neurobiology, Molecular and Cell Biology, Marine Sciences,

and Natural Resources Management and Engineering, as well as the Center for

Environmental Sciences and Engineering, which together comprise one of the

largest groups of biologists in the Northeast.*

The Farrior Lab at the University of Texas at Austin is seeking applications for Ph.D. students for Fall 2018. Individuals who are motivated to drive their own research questions and use theory in their work are particularly encouraged to apply. Research in the Farrior Lab focuses broadly on plant ecology with an emphasis in understanding how competitive interactions at the individual level scale up to influence the distribution of plant strategies we see across the globe.

Ongoing projects with opportunities for students include: understanding physiological mechanisms of drought stress, understanding the determinants of forest size structure from the tropics to the temperate zone, and investigating the evolutionary stability of plant species coexistence. Yet research interests need not fit within these projects.

Interested applicants should contact Dr. Caroline Farrior by email (cfarrior@austin.utexas.edu) with a CV (including GPA and GRE scores) and a note describing their research interests and training, including mathematical background when applicable.

Formal applications will be submitted through the UT Austin, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior (https://cns.utexas.edu/eeb-graduate-program) or Plant Biology (https://cns.utexas.edu/plantbio-graduate-program) graduate programs. Both programs provide excellent support and are the home to an impressive set of students. Applications are due December 1, 2017.

Graduate assistantships are available for Ph.D. positions in the Siepielski Lab https://asiepielski.wordpress.com in the Department of Biological Sciences and Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arkansas main campus in Fayetteville, AR (http://biology.uark.edu). Our lab focuses on questions at the intersection of ecology and evolutionary biology. Current projects include examining spatial variation in the mechanisms that maintain species diversity in aquatic food webs, the contribution of adaptive evolution in shaping the demographic processes regulating populations, how species evolve in response to multiple-species interactions, and determining the major features characterizing natural selection in the wild. To explore these topics we use a combination of observational, experimental, meta-analytical, and theoretical approaches.

I am looking for students interested in developing their own project on themes broadly related to those listed above. Ideal applicants would have prior research experience in ecology and/or evolutionary biology, previous coursework in statistics, and a genuine passion to conduct research. Graduate research fellowships are available for highly competitive candidates. Please see http://graduate-recruitment.uark.edu/funding-degree/fellowships.php for additional information on graduate funding opportunities.

Prospective students should check out our lab website https://asiepielski.wordpress.com for additional information. If interested in joining our lab group, please contact me via email (amsiepie@uark.edu<mailto:amsiepie@uark.edu>). In your email, please include the following: 1) a brief description of your research interests, career goals, and why you think our lab would be a good fit for you, and 2) your CV.

Please note that the deadline for Fall 2018 admission into our program is January 15, 2018. All materials should be submitted well before then.

The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, is a Tier I research university located in the Ozark Mountains. The faculty and graduate students at UARK are highly interactive and include an internationally known group of evolutionary biologists and ecologists. We are located in an ideal setting for field-based projects in aquatic systems (AR has more than 2,300 lakes and thousands of smaller ponds, and equally impressive numbers of rivers, streams and creeks). Fayetteville, located in northwest Arkansas, offers a high quality of living at a low cost, an excellent climate, and is a large enough city to offer diverse activities and amenities. Rock climbing, hiking, kayaking, canoeing, and mountain biking opportunities are in close proximity. Fayetteville is one of the top 5 places to live in the USA https://realestate.usnews.com/places/arkansas/fayetteville

Adam M. Siepielski

Assistant Professor

Department of Biological Sciences

University of Arkansas

Fayetteville AR, 72701

Ph: 1-479-575-6357

Web: https://asiepielski.wordpress.com

The Department of Animal Biology at the University of Illinois
is accepting applications for graduate students for admission in
Fall 2018.  We accept applications for both the Master?s (M.S.) and
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees.  We are an interactive group with
expertise in ecology, evolution, behavior, bioinformatics, conservation,
genetics & genomics, physiology, neuroscience, endocrinology, and
morphology. Students take many approaches to their studies including field
work on whole organisms, genomics/bioinformatics, lab experimentation,
and theory. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign also
offers state-of-the-art research facilities in imaging, genomics, and
engineering.  Urbana-Champaign is a pleasant, affordable, university
town with good music and restaurants.  It has its own airport and is
close to three major U.S. cities (Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis).

Students for the Ph.D. are typically funded for 5-years with a
combination of fellowships, research assistantships, and teaching
assistantships.  The deadline for consideration for fellowship
support is December 15, 2017.  We will consider to consider students
for admission until January 1, 2018.  For further information, see
http://www.life.illinois.edu/animalbiology/graduate_program.htm

The following faculty are actively recruiting students:

Philip Anderson – Comparative evolutionary biomechanics in both
vertebrates and invertebrates. Current areas of specific interest
include: examining the evolution of biological cutting/puncture systems;
biomechanical and morphological diversification in deep-time; evolution
of multi-part biomechanical systems.

Alison Bell – Individual variation; animal personality and behavioral
syndromes; neurogenomics; transgenerational plasticity; evolution of
behavior. We primarily study threespined stickleback fish.

Carla Caceres – Population, community and evolutionary ecology;
life-history evolution; ecology of infectious disease; limnology.

Julian Catchen – Evolution of the genome; computational biology and
population genomics; identifying large structural variation in populations
of threespine stickleback; investigating the evolution of the notothenioid
(Antarctic fishes) genome by examining the adaptive radiation of five
notothenioid species. RADseq, assembly, and genetic mapping analytical
method development.

Chris Cheng –  Evolutionary genomic, transcriptomic, physiological and
biochemical changes accompanying cold adaptation and cold specialization
in Antarctic and Arctic fishes. Genetic origins and molecular mechanisms
of evolution of antifreeze proteins and other novel cold-adaptive genes
and functions. Marine biodiversity in polar regions. Field research in
Antarctica and the Arctic.

Becky Fuller – Evolutionary biology of fishes; evolution of color
patterns/color vision; speciation as a function of adaptation to salinity
and genomic rearrangements; speciation in darters and killifish

Mark Hauber – Ecology and evolution in birds; brood parasitism;
comparative chemistry of egg shell pigmentation, acoustic and visual
recognition systems in birds, neuro-ethology and -genomics, seabird
conservation

Ken Paige – Plant-animal interaction with an emphasis on understanding
the phenomenon of overcompensation from ecological, physiological, genetic
and evolutionary perspectives; conservation biology; evolutionary ecology.

Charles Roseman – Evolutionary quantitative genetics, evo-devo, evolution
of the g-matrix  with emphasis on how small changes in development alter
developmental trajectories and adult phenotypes; mammals

fuller@life.illinois.edu

PhD Graduate Student Positions Available Olson Lab, Texas Tech
University

The Olson lab at Texas Tech University is recruiting PhD Graduate
students interested in the field of plant ecological genetics to start
in the fall of 2018. Our lab studies a variety of questions including
local adaptation to latitude in relation to climate change, the
evolution of breeding systems, sex chromosome evolution, and the
evolution of gender dimorphism in plants. We use a variety of
experimental techniques including common garden studies, field ecology,
transmission genetics, genomics and bioinformatics. For the past decade
we have studied these processes in forest trees and expect that this
will continue to be the main taxonomic focus of our research.

Our current funding supports research to study the ecological and
genetic factors influencing the dynamic movement of sex determination
regions and sex chromosome evolution within the Salicaceae (poplars and
willows). The overall project focuses on mapping sex determination
regions from representatives throughout the family, understanding the
genetic basis of gender dimorphism in defense and pollinator attraction
chemistry, and the assessment of population genetic patterns across the
sex determination and pseudo-autosomal regions of the sex chromosomes.
Graduate students working on this project will have the opportunity to
choose from a variety of projects including, but not limited to,
mapping the locations of previously unknown sex determination regions,
development of phylogenies for important plant groups, and studying the
evolution of sexual dimorphism in plant defensive and pollinator
attraction compounds. Moreover, the grant provides for a unique
multi-institutional and international training environment, with
potential funding to visit labs at the University of West Virginia, the
University of Wisconsin, Cornell University, and Sichuan University and
Nanjing Forestry University in China for cross-disciplinary training.

The Olson lab is part of a dynamic Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
group at Texas Tech. Courses and focused training in ecology,
bioinformatics, and genomics are available from a highly interactive
faculty. Texas Tech boasts excellent laboratory and research resources
as well as easy access to some of the most beautiful and remote regions
of the lower 48 United States.

Please contact Matt Olson directly at matt.olson@ttu.edu for more
information regarding opportunities and application information.
Additional information about the Olson lab can be found at
www.faculty.biol.ttu.edu/olson/Research.html and general information
concerning the Department of Biological Sciences can be found at
www.depts.ttu.edu/biology/.

“Olson, Matt” <matt.olson@ttu.edu>

Graduate position in plant evolutionary genetics or evolutionary ecology

The Friedman lab at Syracuse University is looking for enthusiastic and
motivated Ph.D. students beginning in Fall 2018. Students will develop
dissertation projects in evolutionary genetics or evolutionary ecology
that complement work in the lab. Our lab uses a combination of ecological
and genomics approaches to address the evolution of reproductive
strategies in plants. Ongoing projects examine local adaptation,
quantitative genetics of life history differences in Mimulus guttatus,
sexual selection and mating in plants (http://friedmanlab.syr.edu/). Most
projects use a combination of field work, greenhouse or growth chamber
experiments, population genomics, and molecular ecology.

The Friedman lab is part of the dynamic and integrative Center for
Reproductive Evolution (http://cre.syr.edu/) and the Ecology & Plant
Biology, and Evolution, Genetics & Genomics research groups in Syracuse
Universityขs Department of Biology. Funding is guaranteed through
teaching assistantships for 5 years, and there is potential for Research
Assistantships. Syracuse University offers excellent benefits, a full
tuition waiver, and a generous stipend (~$25K for 2016). The close
proximity to SUNY-Environmental Science & Forestry campus and Cornell
makes this a strong and vibrant community.

Interested students should first contact Jannice Friedman
(friedman@syr.edu) with a description of your research interests and
experience and a CV or resume. For full consideration, full applications
to the department should be received by December 15, 2017.

Additional information:
Friedman lab: http://friedmanlab.syr.edu/
Grad Apply: http://biology.syr.edu/graduate/apply.html
Grad Studies in Biology: http://biology.syr.edu/graduate/programs.html
Biology Department: http://biology.syr.edu/
Center for Reproductive Evolution: http://cre.syr.edu/

PhD position in ecology/evolution/physiology of plants/microbes/termites –
We are looking for a graduate student to join our research group beginning
in fall semester 2018. The student would develop an independent research
focus in line with ongoing lab projects. We are exploring how plant traits
relate to community structure and function of plant-associated microbes
and termites using culturing and next generation sequencing techniques and
the consequences of these interactions for the forest carbon cycle in the
USA, France and Australia as climate changes. Additionally, we are looking
at the evolution, ecology and physiology of plants across environmental
gradients in various locations around the globe. The student would join
an interactive lab group (http://secure-web.cisco.com/1A5JAXTAigapcapshTP09iNkZT3hPSKIRNO9xReIr1fRHR8ALBLE3pHys8wMjjbJqXnT6u-j0DleRKf4Yfyz7Apnf6UiIwVwacUdhA-Q1zk664t33xCZfFBeEEEx_wRHxoY8L8qXVqblms_0CeQk7qV6OfjRv5W0sY2Olj19SCnJRzHIFboMbaahKXsOCt1twqvIH71FFCYJ82_35BeGv0g7Eyhxu3fm0OzqZWjrSWH11ItwN7Sbd5vhrwrHGUALAeUvkqX36pL4XFaDytsDpTSLUD4DDUMHclB4XMdRbG2lmdJ5EYA9b9pDHAZDyGs59979WzdSTi7yeHqYMnoFQz2XWHibFGXCWkTd1BI838bogGGyugiotmgC6TsP3E5p0xTgkV9NwqXSfIHspch42qF_yHW1WeucvuRl-xdGq2jr1E_3ZqcM7I7-z6X5DDf3IvhEIPL-PYFU4S-cscQqGxQ/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phylodiversity.net%2Fazanne%2F%29 that
broadly focuses on plant, microbe and termite structure and function
(anatomy and physiological ecology), community ecology, and evolutionary
ecology, both in the temperate and tropical systems. The graduate
work will be completed at George Washington University. Washington,
DC is a dynamic city with a wealth of ecologists and evolutionary
biologists. We have strong links to area institutions, including the
Smithsonian. George Washington University is located in the heart of DC,
with easy access to numerous science, conservation, and policy based
institutions. If you are interested in working with us, please send
an email to me (Amy Zanne: aezanne@gmail.com) with brief details about
your GPA, GRE, research interests, experience, and why you want to go to
graduate school. For information about applying to the program, go to the
George Washington University, Department of Biological Sciences website
(https://biology.columbian.gwu.edu/apply-now). The application deadline
is 1 December 2017. I am also happy to answer any further questions you
might have.

I=92d like to announce two opportunities for PhD-level research in the Finzi

lab of Terrestrial Biogeochemistry at Boston University. The first

opportunity is in the area of coupled biogeochemical cycles in global

ecosystems with an emphasis on nutrient-use efficiency, allocation and

retranslocation. There is broad latitude for graduate student development of

ideas within this context. The student will most likely engage in

meta-analysis, field studies and modeling. The second opportunity is in the

area of agricultural ecology, focusing specifically on root traits, soil

carbon cycling and fertilizer-use efficiency in bioenergy crop systems

[study sites in Florida & Illinois]. This opportunity is part of a much

larger, DOE-funded Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation

(CABBI) at the University of Illinois. The student will be trained at Boston

University but will have significant opportunities for interaction with the

highly multidisciplinary team that makes up the Center.

The City of Boston is a wonderful place to live and work. While modest in

size, Boston offers all of the benefits of the =91big city=92 experience and a

progressive work-life environment. At the same time there are ample mountain

activities in the White and Green Mountains of NH and VT, respectively, as

well as beaches on the north shore, south shore and Cape Cod. A very good

light rail system offers to opportunity to get around Boston without the

need for a vehicle. Boston has also gotten very bicycle friendly in recent

years. Field work can be accomplished via transport in a Finzi Lab vehicle.

The two PhD students will have the opportunity to participate in the PhD

program in Biogeoscience at Boston University. The program combines faculty

from the Department of Biology and Earth & Environment. There are upwards of

25 PhD students and postdocs in the program forming a =91critical mass=92 for

collaboration, friendship and scientific development.

Students interested in additional details can contact Dr. Adrien Finzi via

email [afinzi at bu dot edu] or by telephone [617.353.2453]. The application

deadline for the Department of Biology is December 7, 2017. Application

material can be found at: https://bu-grs.liaisoncas.com/applicant-ux/#/login