Postdoctoral position available: Invasion ecology of coastal grassland in northern California
A position is available for a postdoctoral researcher in a study on the invasion ecology of a coastal grassland community in northern California. The primary objective of the study is to test the hypothesis that human-caused changes in disturbance or resource availability promote invasion by diminishing the local adaptedness of native plant species and thus their ability to compete with introduced plants. The project is also testing the important, corollary hypothesis that reversing human-caused changes to the environment will enable natives to re-establish themselves in habitats now dominated by introduced plants. The study system is a coastal prairie at the University of California Bodega Marine Laboratory and Reserve, about 100 km north of San Francisco along the Pacific Ocean. The plant community has a relatively high diversity of both native and introduced grasses and forbs, and invasion is patchy, providing good opportunities to study invasion at the community level and at different stages. The postdoctoral researcher will oversee on-going field experiments, design and conduct complementary greenhouse experiments, analyze data, and co-author papers. Applicants should have expertise in one or more of the areas of plant and soil nutrient analysis, statistics, and plant competition experiments. Applicants with a good publication record and experience supervising research assistants will also be favored. The Bodega Marine Lab and Reserve provide an excellent research environment. The research community at the lab includes about 100 faculty, senior researchers, technicians, and grad students. The site on the coast of Sonoma County is beautiful and enjoys a mild climate year-round. The position is available for about one year and offers a competitive salary and benefits. The researcher will be employed through the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. To apply, please email a curriculum vitae, a cover letter that explains your qualifications and interest, and the names, mailing addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers of three references to Peter Alpert at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please feel free to email for more information or to discuss the position before applying. Applications will be reviewed as they are received and accepted until the position is filled.
