Graduate Student Positions in Bioacoustics The Animal Communication Lab in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (EEB) at the University of Minnesota has graduate teaching assistantships for two Ph.D. students starting in the Fall semester of 2006. The application deadline is December 15, 2005. Research: We seek to understand the mechanisms, function, and evolution of acoustic communication. We take a question-oriented, hypothesis-driven approach that is integrative, comparative, and multi-disciplinary, and that draws on questions and methods from behavioral ecology, evolutionary biology, comparative psychology, human psychoacoustics, and neurophysiology. We currently use anuran amphibians (frogs and toads) as model systems, although work on other taxa is also possible. Ongoing projects focus on two major questions. First, what is the role of acoustic signaling in mediating the aggressive male-male interactions that arise from sexual selection and take place in social environments that are both temporally and spatially variable? In this context, our work investigates vocally mediated social recognition, behavioral plasticity and learning, and honest signaling in male frogs that defend calling sites or breeding territories. Second, how does the auditory system perceive acoustic signals in a noisy social environment? In this context, we are investigating questions related to auditory scene analysis and the cocktail party problem two phenomena known from human hearing research in order to understand how the anuran auditory system forms auditory objects of acoustic signals and segregates the signals of one male from the background noise of a chorus. Funding: Funding includes a stipend (minimum of $14,692 for a 9-month appointment as a teaching assistant), tuition waiver, and health benefits (95%) and can be guaranteed for up to five years with a combination of research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and fellowships. Summer funding is also likely. External funding for the auditory scene analysis project is currently pending. If funded, students may be supported by the grant in the spring and summer months to engage in research full-time. Environment: The Graduate Program in EEB links faculty and students interested in the biology of organisms from molecules to ecosystems. Studies address questions from molecular mechanisms of evolution, the interactions of organisms in social groups and populations, the distributions and abundances of species in communities and ecosystems, to global biogeochemical processes. The program provides broad training in the general areas of ecology, evolution, and animal behavior, and specialized courses and research in vertebrate and invertebrate zoology; behavior and ethology; evolution; population genetics; molecular evolution; systematics; population, community and ecosystem ecology; global ecology, limnology, paleoecology, ecology of vegetation, and theoretical ecology. Qualifications: Applicants must have a Bachelors degree (or equivalent for international students) in biology, psychology, or a related area and should have strong interests in animal acoustic communication. Students admitted to the Ph.D. program in EEB must have outstanding credentials and seek a career in research. Experience working in the field, handling live animals, programming in C++ or Matlab, and/or recording and analyzing sounds will be considered a plus! Information: More information can be found at the following websites: Animal Communication Lab: www.tc.umn.edu/~mbee. Graduate Program in EEB: http://www.cbs.umn.edu/eeb/graduateprogram/ Dept. of EEB: http://www.cbs.umn.edu/eeb Fellowship Opportunities: http://www.cbs.umn.edu/eeb/graduateprogram/fellowships/ University of Minnesota: http://www1.umn.edu/twincities/index.php How to Apply: The application deadline for Fall 2006 is December 15, 2005. Interested students are encouraged to initiate contact early by visiting the lab web page (www.tc.umn.edu/~mbee) for more information on how to join the lab or by contacting Mark Bee directly (612-624-6749, [EMAIL PROTECTED]). ****************************** Dr. Mark A. Bee Dept. Ecology, Evolution, & Behavior University of Minnesota 100 Ecology 1987 Upper Buford Circle St. Paul, MN 55108 ph: 612-624-6749 fx: 612-624-6777 web: www.tc.umn.edu/~mbee ******************************
