MRes Studentship 18 months “Trade-offs in sexual selection and cognition” Why do individuals vary in their cognitive abilities? EVOECOCOG, an ERC funded project, takes the disciplines of cognition and evolutionary biology into a natural setting to answer this question. It aims to do this by investigating a variety of proximate causes and population-level consequences of individual cognitive variation using a great tit Parus major population. This MRes position will explore potential trade-offs between traits involved in pre-copulatory and post-copulatory sexual selection and their relationships with mating success and cognitive ability. The student will perform laboratory analyses of sperm sampled from male great tits in the breeding season to measure sperm quality and viability, and then relate this to mating success by performing paternity analysis using a newly purchased state-of-the-art DNA sequencer. These measures will be compared to measures of signal quality and cognitive abili...
I am currently accepting one graduate student interested in doing research on the ecology of mammalian hosts and their role to sustain tick populations and pathogens vectored by these ectoparasites. Applicants should be highly independent and motivated. Previous field experience trapping small and medium size mammals is highly preferred (familiar with the use of Sherman and Tomahawk traps). The work will involve some intensive fieldwork with long hours in the field at sites in Texas. Careful note taking and great organization skills to handle data gathering, sample organization, etc. are essential skills. A current driver's license will be needed for use of lab vehicle. Current research in my lab examines the relationship between mammal ecology and prevalence of disease agents (i.e., Hantavirus, Borrelia, Trypanosoma) in reservoir species and how this changes along environmental and disturbance gradients. The ultimate goal of the research at my lab is...
Agency: Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Location: Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
MS Research Assistantships in Central California San Joaquin River Restoration – Chinook Salmon Floodplain Production Study Two MS-level research assistantships are available for highly qualified and motivated students starting in August 2015 at California State University-Fresno (Fresno State). Students will participate in a multi-year federally-funded collaborative project under the larger scope of the San Joaquin River Restoration (restoresjr.org), one of the largest river restoration projects undertaken in North America. The specific project and assistantships will be in collaboration with Cramer Fish Sciences, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and others.
The Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management at Oklahoma State University announces a Graduate Research Assistantship beginning Jan. 2015. The successful applicant will take the lead on a project to study the long- term effects of prescribed fire on ground-dwelling birds in upland oak forests of central Oklahoma. In this transition zone between eastern forests and central grasslands, fire frequency can have dramatic effects on vegetation, litter, and coarse woody debris. We are interested in vegetation structure and arthropod availability at the ground level as mechanisms to explain avian community composition along a gradient of fire frequency. The GRA will manage this project, overseeing all data collection and taking the lead on analysis and manuscript preparation in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Master of Science degree in NREM. The GRA will be co-advised by Drs. Steve Hallgren and Tim O’Connell. Compensation: Full project support for two years inc...
*Bison Ecology: predator/prey dynamics and vegetation interactions* *Description*: The Department of Natural Resource Management at South Dakota State University invites applications for a MS Assistantship focused on Bison Ecology. The student will spend substantial time in isolated field locations collecting data as well as contributing to daily ranch activities. The project is funded for 3 years *Qualifications*: Academic requirements include a Bachelor’s degree in a related field, strong GRE scores, and GPA above 3.0. Candidates with hands-on experience working with Bison or other livestock are preferred. Candidates must have a strong work ethic and be able to physically endure the demands of field work in extreme weather conditions that can range from very hot to extreme cold. Candidates must have the ability to work independently and contribute to management, research, and academic teams. *Financial Support*: Approximately $18,000 sti...
The Department of Biology at John Carroll University is accepting applications for funded teaching assistantships in Biology at the master’s level. The Anthony/Hickerson research lab anticipates openings beginning in fall of 2014. Funding includes a full tuition waiver and competitive stipend. Drs. Anthony and Hickerson have two distinct research areas: 1) We are interested in the ecology and evolution of color polymorphism in red-backed salamanders, Plethodon cinereus. 2) We are also interested in how terrestrial amphibians interact with large invertebrates (e.g. centipedes, spiders, earthworms) in temperate forest floor food webs. Recent publications from our lab can be found here (https://sites.google.com/site/anthonylaboratory/home/publications) and here (http://johncarroll.academia.edu/CariAnnHickerson). If you are interested in applying, please contact Carl Anthony (canthony@jcu.edu) or Cari Hickerson (chickerson@jcu.edu) directly by 15 February. Please inc...
Graduate student positions are currently available for the MS and PhD programs in Botany, Zoology, Environmental Science, and Mathematics at Washington State University's Vancouver campus. Most positions are funded with teaching and/or research assistantships that include tuition waivers. Faculty research areas in biology and environmental science include • Conservation Biology • Restoration Ecology • Disturbance Ecology • Successional Dynamics • Ecology of Aquatic Invasive Species • Global Change Biology • Watershed Biogeochemistry • Environmental Chemistry • Environmental Physics • Oceanography • Animal Behavior • Plant Ecology • Butterfly Ecology • Marine & Freshwater...
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 (M.Sc) in Wildlife & Fisheries Biology to take the lead on a research project designed to better understand the ecological impacts and damage caused by invasive feral pigs in a variety of habitats throughout South Carolina. The student will lead an effort to quantify feral pig habitat preferences and levels of habitat disturbance using a variety of tools such as camera traps, live trapping, habitat surveys, and habitat suitability modeling. While a large deal of the research effort will involve fieldwork throughout the state, the student should also have strong quantitative and analytical research skills necessary for modeling disturbance over time and space. The ideal candidate will also have an inquisitive mind towards developing novel solutions for mitigating ...
I am seeking potential graduate students (M.S. or Ph.D.) interested in studying comparative genomics of amoeboid protists. Our lab is broadly interested in the evolution of sociality in microbes. We are developing model systems to look at the commonalities among the greatest examples of convergent evolution known to date. We have discovered that a great diversity of single celled eukaryotic microbes (AKA protists) are capable of working with one another to form a complex body made of thousands of individual cells. This is one of the simplest and most striking examples of emergent behavior. In many cases, this behavior is sacrificial where some of the cells that become part of the multicellular body die for the “greater good” of others. To examine the commonalities amongst the various social protists, we are taking a multi-pronged approach using comparative genomics and developmental transcriptomics to elucidate the genetic basis of sociality. Our lab is also interested in examining the...
Salary: $15,000 and tuition waiver Closing: Until filled Responsibilities: Participate in an interdisciplinary socio-economic research project investigating the impact of tournament fishing at Lake Guntersville reservoir in Alabama. This reservoir boasts one of the best bass fisheries in the U.S. if not the world. The study will focus on valuing tournament angling related expenditures and their impact on surrounding communities. Duties will include survey development, on-lake and follow-up surveying of Lake Guntersville tournament fishermen and related businesses, data entry, and use of travel cost methodologies to estimate economic values of this use of the reservoir’s fishery. Anticipated start date is January 2012. Qualifications: Must be accepted into the Masters of Science program at Auburn University and be committed to an interdisciplinary program focusing on natural resource economics and fishery science, nd rese...
