Interested in graduate work in plant population biology? Contact: Helen Alexander Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Kansas [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Details: I have recently obtained USDA funding in collaboration with Drs. Allison Snow and Kristin Mercer at Ohio State University for a project on the effect of early life history stages (seed dormancy, seed germination, seedling competition) on the persistence of crop alleles in populations of wild sunflowers (Helianthus annuus). Our research is part of our broader interest in risk assessment of transgenic crops. Further, we have interest in the population ecology of wild sunflowers given that it is one of the relatively few native annual plants of the Great Plains. We will establish field experiments in Kansas that evaluate whether low seed dormancy and early germination rates of crop-wild hybrid sunflowers are maladaptive (i.e. reduce spread and persistence of crop alleles in wild populations) or whether these same traits could increase introgression if larger hybrid seedlings are more competitive than wild sunflower genotypes. I am looking for a graduate student who has interest in this project, as well as developing independent research in plant population biology. There are a variety of dissertation projects that could be developed in the context of this project; my laboratory also has research strengths in plant-pathogen interactions and conservation biology of plants. Please contact me if interested (<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED]; http://www2.ku.edu/~eeb/faculty/alexanderh.html . University of Kansas is located in Lawrence, KS, a college town in eastern KS, about 50 minutes from Kansas City and in close proximity to natural areas (prairies, eastern deciduous forest). Our department has excellent breadth and depth across ecology and evolutionary biology disciplines ( http://www2.ku.edu/~eeb/), and extensive nearby field ecology facilities ( http://www.ksr.ku.edu/). Application information can be found at http://www2.ku.edu/~eeb/graduate/index.html Kristin Mercer, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow The Ohio State University Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology [EMAIL PROTECTED] 614-292-8433
