GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIP (Ph.D.) in Wildlife Ecology

The School of Agricultural, Forest, and Environmental Sciences and the
South Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Clemson
University is seeking candidates for a graduate research assistantship
(Ph.D.) in Wildlife Ecology to take the lead on a research project
designed to better understand the factors affecting alligator
population dynamics in coastal South Carolina. The student will lead
an effort to determine alligator occupancy of varying habitat types,
habitat requirements (ex. water levels as determined through remote
sensing data), and habitat stressors (ex. contamination). Population
and occupancy modeling of existing and newly collected data sets will
be used to make recommendations of harvest limits and develop a
conservation plan for alligators. This largely is a quantitative,
analytical research effort but there will be some opportunities for
the student to conduct fieldwork. The work will focus on developing
conservation recommendations to aid state managers with decision
making related to harvest and developing improved survey protocols to
estimate abundance and distribution of alligator populations. This
work will directly support the development of an adaptive management
and conservation action plan for alligator harvest and population
management in the state. The project will be focus on South Carolina
populations but the results of this work will have far reaching
impacts on alligator management throughout the southeast. The
position will be available beginning in the fall of 2012 but will be
open until filled. Research stipends are approximately $16,000, and a
full tuition waiver is available.

Applicants should possess an M.S. degree in Wildlife Ecology,
Biostatistics, or related field, a good work ethic, and strong
quantitative or modeling skills. Extensive experience with
statistical analyses of ecological data, proficiency in ArcGIS, and
population and occupancy modeling are required. To be competitive,
applicants must have undergraduate and graduate GPAs > 3.4 and a
general GRE score > 1200. Applications will be accepted until the
position is filled. Applicants that are selected for an interview will
be contacted directly by Dr. Kate McFadden. Interested applicants
should send a cover letter outlining their qualifications for the
project, copies of undergraduate and graduate transcripts and GRE
scores, and contact information for at least 3 references.
Application materials can be sent by e-mail and should be saved as a
single pdf in the following format: Last Name_First Name_Alligator
PHD.pdf

Contact information is:

Dr. Kate McFaden, G20 Lehotsky Hall, Clemson University, Clemson,
South Carolina, 29634,  864-656-4141, kwm6@clemson.edu