Agency: Southern Illinois University Location: Carbondale, Illinois Job Category: Graduate Assistantships Salary: $25k/yr + tuition and student health care access; up to 5 years of support Start Date: August 2025, start date negotiable Last Date to Apply: Open until Filled; applicants will be reviewed on rolling basis. Advisors: Drs. Brent Pease and Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau Website: https://peaselab.com/; https://bastillerousseau.wixsite.com/research
Description A Ph.D.-level Graduate Research Assistantship is available starting August 2025 in the PEASE Lab (Population Estimation and Spatial Ecology; peaselab.com) at Southern Illinois University to establish a statewide Autonomous Recording Unit (ARU) monitoring project. The focus of the monitoring will be on wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) populations but several other state listed or SGCN species, particularly forest species, are of interest. The student will lead research using ARUs to document spatial and/or temporal variation in the timing of turkey vocalizations (e.g., Kreh et al., 2018 Wildlife Society Bulletin). The objective of this research is to assess current spring harvest season regulations (e.g., timing, zoning, and length of spring harvest seasons) and then provide regulatory recommendations based on ARU sampling. Addition work will focus on environmental drivers of variation in vocalization timing as well as methodological work in ARUs, species identification from audio recordings, and continued ongoing work within our lab on population estimation (e.g., abundance) via ARU recordings. Secondly, the ARUs will passively document many other species, and the student will have an opportunity to develop research questions focused on non-targeted species or methodology of ARUs (e.g., study design, analyses, etc.). This position will emphasize a unique intersection of field and quantitative ecology. The selected student will ideally have extensive experience deploying, processing, and analyzing acoustic data. Students with an interest in developing and applying state-of-the-art quantitative approaches in wildlife conservation are particularly encouraged to apply; much of the dissertation work could focus on model and methodological development. Additional research is needed on machine learning classifiers for wild turkey management. The student should also be excited about carrying out field work during winter and spring across Illinois, in sometimes difficult field conditions, and should have a general interest and knowledge of wild turkey and other upland gamebird ecology. The successful applicant is expected to communicate findings to state agencies and other on-going, regional monitoring efforts. The student will earn a Ph.D. in Agricultural Sciences at Southern Illinois University. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---- -- -- ---- -- -- ---- -- -- ---- -- -- ---- -- -- -- General Qualifications This is a well-funded, multi-agency research project, and the graduate student will be expected to assist in hiring and managing field technicians to support the data collection efforts. The successful applicant will have (1) obtained M.S. degree in wildlife, ecology, biology, forestry, zoology, or related fields; (2) knowledge of wild turkey ecology; (3) exceptional quantitative skills with experience using a variety of data types and models; (4) knowledge of program R and spatial software (e.g., QGIS, ArcGIS); (5) a driver's license and ability to conduct independent field work in difficult conditions (e.g., steep terrain, poison ivy, ticks); (6) strong oral and written communication skills, and (7) a cooperative, team-oriented mindset eager to carry out wildlife research and address key problems in wildlife conservation and management. To apply please email a single PDF to Dr. Brent Pease (bpea...@siu.edu<mailto:bpea...@siu.edu>) that includes: 1. A cover letter that describes your specific interest in this position and how your past experiences and career goals align with the goals of the project. 2. Curriculum Vitae (with GPA and GRE scores included) 3. Undergraduate and graduate transcripts (unofficial is acceptable) 4. Example of writing (e.g., M.S. thesis or publication; can be included separately as PDF) 6. Contact information for 3 references The email subject should be “PhD – ARU Monitoring”. Applications will be accepted until positions are filled and reviewed on a rolling basis. Questions: Contact Person: Dr. Brent Pease Contact Email: bpea...@siu.edu<mailto:bpea...@siu.edu> Please see the PEASE lab website (https://peaselab.com/) and the SIU Forestry Program’s homepage (https://forestry.siu.edu<https://forestry.siu.edu/>) for more information on our research and academic department. BRENT PEASE, PH.D. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, FORESTRY PROGRAM SCHOOL OF FORESTRY AND HORTICULTURE MAIL CODE 4411 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY 1205 LINCOLN DRIVE, AGRICULTURAL BUILDING, ROOM 186B CARBONDALE, ILLINOIS 62901 bpea...@siu.edu<mailto:bpea...@siu.edu> P: 618.453.7474 PEASELAB.COM SIU.EDU FORESTRY.SIU.EDU SCHEDULE A MEETING<https://outlook.office.com/bookwithme/user/3da611d2ce874b1d9770732e6cf06...@siu.edu/meetingtype/XtAWixY1Kkq3e3avTnnkyQ2?anonymous&ep=mlink> To unsubscribe from this list please go to https://community.esa.org/confirm/?u=RhPWqPxFwODKvbkiT32nkIqRrsiSgulp