Graduate Research Opportunities in Tropical Stream Ecology ~ Bioblogia.net

28 de agosto de 2006

Graduate Research Opportunities in Tropical Stream Ecology

Two PhD. graduate research assistantships are available for a highly
motivated students interested in tropical stream ecosystems. Both
positions will be associated with a newly awarded NSF-FIBR grant designed
to examine feedbacks between ecological and evolutionary processes. The
discovery of rapid evolution in natural systems indicates that evolution
and ecological dynamics can unfold on a common, measurable time scale. The
goals of our project are to characterize these dynamics in a natural
ecosystem and test specific hypotheses addressing ecological processes,
selective pressures, and evolutionary trajectories. The study expands upon
long-term research of guppy evolution in Trinidad by explicitly
incorporating aspects of stream ecosystem science. More specifically,
ecosystem-scale manipulations (predator abundance and light manipulations)
will be used to examine guppy and killifish life history evolution,
population dynamics, community structure and ecosystem dynamics. The
positions advertised here will be associated with the ecosystem component
of the study in which isotope tracer experiments (15N-NH4) and metabolism
measurements will be used to quantify experimental conditions, construct
nutrient flow food webs, and assess ecosystem scale impacts of species
introduction and subsequent life history evolution.

Successful candidates will have the opportunity to work closely with
researchers and fellow graduate students from UC-Riverside, Cornell
University, Univ. of Georgia, and several other institutions. Field work
associated with this project will be conducted in Trinidad's northern
mountain range and will begin in January, 2007. Successful candidates will
participate in research design, field experimentation, data analysis, and
publication. Because students will be required to spend extended periods
of time in Trinidad conducting research in montane rain forests, candidates
with extensive travel and/or field experience are desired. Interested
individuals should submit a cover letter that includes a brief review of
your research experience/interests/goals (2 pg max) and a CV to:

Dr. Steve Thomas
School of Natural Resources
University of Nebraska
Lincoln, NE 68583-0995

For more information contact Dr. Thomas at: sthomas5@unl.edu. To learn
more about graduate studies at the University of Nebraska and to request an
application form, see the School of Natural Resource web site
(http://snr.unl.edu/). Application deadline is open.

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