DEPARTMENT OF PLANT BIOLOGY & CENTER FOR ECOLOGY SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, CARBONDALE
Ph.D. RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIP SOIL ECOLOGY, BIOGEOCHEMISTRY & GRASSLAND RESTORATION Project Focus: Interactions between state factors such as precipitation and soil texture are likely to regulate plant productivity and play an important role in the recovery of belowground structure and function following long-term disturbance. Multiple grassland chronosequences will be used to elucidate recovery rates of ecosystem processes as mediated by time, vegetation composition, precipitation, and soil type. This research aims to quantify and model plant and environmental drivers of changes in soil carbon and nitrogen cycling, microbial community composition, and soil structure in response to grassland restoration. Students with a Masters degree in life or soil science, with an interest in soil ecology, biogeochemistry and/or restoration ecology are encouraged to inquire. Application deadline: December 1, 2006 Start Date: June 15, 2006 Contact: Sara G. Baer ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, CARBONDALE hosts 21,500 students enrolled in 175 academic programs. Ecology has become a research strength at SIUC and an interdisciplinary group of >25 faculty participate in the new Center for Ecology. Southern Illinois lies in one of the most biologically diverse regions of the United States containing remnants of tallgrass prairie, vast expanses of eastern deciduous forest, the most eastern extension of the Ozarks, northernmost cypress swamps associated with gulf coastal plain, numerous lakes, extensive wetlands, and lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. SIUC is a regional nucleus of academic, creative, cultural, and outdoor recreational activities. The DEPARTMENT OF PLANT BIOLOGY AT SIUC provides broad opportunities for both field and laboratory study. Our strengths in the field of plant biology include: forest, grassland, and wetland ecology; plant systematics and evolution; bryology and lichenology; pollination ecology; plant molecular biology; mineral nutrition and micronutrient uptake; developmental morphology and anatomy; plant stress physiology; nutrient cycling; and electron microscopy. DEPARTMENT OF PLANT BIOLOGY, MAILCODE 6509, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, CARBONDALE, IL 62901 http://www.science.siu.edu/plant-biology/index.html
