Ph.D. research assistantship available at Wright State University in the interdisciplinary PhD program in Environmental Sciences.
Project Title: Collaborative Research: Adaptive radiation of a gall midge-fungus mutualism in a multitrophic context. I am looking for a PhD student to work on an NSF funded collaborative project examining the ecology and evolution of an incipient adaptive radiation of gall midges (Cecidomyiidae) and their symbiotic fungi on goldenrods (Solidago). See the project summary below for a brief overview of the project. Admission into Wright States ES PhD program will be required of the selected applicant. Click link for details of this program (http://www.wright.edu/academics/envsci/index.html). Anticipated start date for the position is September 1, 2006 or as soon as the position is filled. Salary is approximately $19,000/year plus tuition remission. Send letter of interest, resume, GRE scores, transcripts, and names and contact information for 3 references to: John O. Stireman III Department of Biological Sciences 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway 235A, BH, Wright State University Dayton, OH 45435 Phone: 937-775-3192 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] See my Web page for publications and research interests in the Stireman lab http://www.wright.edu/~john.stireman Project summary Adaptive radiation has long been a central theme in evolutionary biology and this selection driven process is thought to be a fundamental engine of biological diversification. Recent years have seen a tremendous growth in empirical studies and synthetic reviews of the subject. Our proposed work, however, addresses an important shortcoming: there are almost no studies of how species interactions other than competition promote or hinder adaptive radiation. In particular, there is a dearth of studies examining how trophic interactions among species spur or inhibit adaptive diversification. Given that most species are embedded in complex ecological networks encompassing multiple trophic and/or symbiotic interactions, the shortage of work in this area means we currently lack data of general significance, essential to ground-truth new theory and predictions concerning the causes and processes of adaptive radiation and biological diversification. The focus of the proposed work is the pattern and process of adaptive radiation in a multi-trophic community context. Preliminary evidence suggests that the gall midge Asteromyia carbonifera and its fungal associate (Botryosphaeria sp.) are undergoing an incipient, rapid radiation on their goldenrod (Solidago spp.) hosts. Furthermore, the midges suffer extraordinarily high rates of parasitism by hymenopteran parasitoids, the distribution of which suggests that these enemies may influence adaptive divergence of their midge hosts. We will focus on understanding how adaptive radiation in this system is influenced by geography, interactions between mutualists, and interactions between trophic levels. We propose to employ genetic analyses (e.g., DNA sequencing, AFLPs, microsatellites) and laboratory/field studies to reconstruct the recent history and ongoing population genetic and ecological processes involved in radiation of the midge-fungus species complexes. Cecidomyiid gall midges have long attracted attention for their phenomenal taxonomic and ecological diversity, and the proposed work will enable a detailed dissection of the patterns and processes of gall midge diversification in its earliest stages. Most importantly, the work will provide a tractable model for exploring how adaptive divergence in complex ecological systems is influenced by hosts, mutualists, natural enemies, and their interactions. John O. Stireman III Assistant Professor Department of Biological Sciences 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway 235A, BH, Wright State University Dayton, OH 45435 Phone: 937-775-3192 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.wright.edu/~john.stireman
