PhD Graduate Research Assistantship in Forest Ecology A PhD GRA position is available for a student to join a team studying the ecological role of fire in Cross Timbers forests, a vegetation type covering almost 5 million hectares from southeastern Kansas across Oklahoma to north-central Texas. Research is focused on relationships among fire frequency, vegetation composition and structure, community biodiversity, litter and coarse woody debris and wildlife values.
This research position is supported by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. Dr. David M. Leslie, Jr., Leader of the Oklahoma Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit is co-director of the project. The Cross Timbers forests are highly threatened today by overgrazing, invasive species, exclusion of fire and clearing for agriculture and urbanization. Evidence suggests the quality of savannahs and forests for wildlife habitat is changing due to increasing density of woody vegetation. Position: The student will enroll in a PhD program at OSU starting Fall 2009. The stipend will be $17,500 per year and will be renewed after each year based on satisfactory progress. Benefits include tuition waiver and health insurance. Contact: Steve Hallgren, 022 Ag Hall, Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, 405-744-6805, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
