(Note: this is a re-posting from a few weeks ago. The scope of the position has been broadened to include Master's applicants, hence the re-posting.)
We are searching for a graduate student to take on a multi-faceted project studying invertebrate communities responding to different fuels-management techniques in the Tahoe basin of the Sierra Nevada. The student would be a part of the Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology graduate program at the University of Nevada, Reno, and would be advised by Matt Forister (Biology Dept.), also working closely with Pat Manley (USFS, Sierra Nevada Research Center) and Dennis Murphy (Biology Dept.). Specific questions to be addressed by the student would include the following: (1) How do insect communities (particularly ants, but also butterflies) respond to different forest-management techniques? and (2) What are the relative responses of ants and butterflies to the experimental treatments? Other questions to be pursued could be crafted by the student in collaboration with advisors. These questions will be answered with a combination of previously collected data and data to be collected by the student. Funding is available in the form of research-assistant stipends for approximately half of the student's tenure (1 yr for MS, 2 yrs for PhD); TAships are available for the remaining time, and we expect opportunities to apply for additional funding. The student would start the graduate program in the Fall of 2010. However, it is essential that field work start this coming summer. The timing and extent of that field work (for the 2010 season) is flexible, and could be a few weeks or a few months, depending on the availability of the candidate. The ideal candidate will have some or all of the following qualities: 1) Experience with multivariate, community analyses. 2) An ability and a desire to work independently both in the field and in the lab. 3) Either experience with invertebrates (particularly ants) or the ability to learn species-level identification of insect taxa. 4) Good data management skills. Please send a cover letter and CV, as well contact information (names, affiliations, and email addresses) for three professional references by email to Matt Forister ([email protected]). In the cover letter, please comment on the qualities mentioned above for the ideal candidate. Also state availability for field work this coming summer. For more details on the study system see: Sanford et al. (2008) Effects of Urban Development on Ant Communities: Implications for Ecosystem Services and Management. Conservation Biology 23:131-141; and Heckmann et al. (2008) Ecological integrity of remnant montane forests along an urban gradient in the Sierra Nevada. Forest Ecology & Management 255:2453-2466. For more details on the graduate group, see http://www.mojave.unr.edu/eecb/new/index.php. Also see my lab website: http://web.me.com/mforister/GreatBasinBugLab/Home.html. Sincerely, Matt Forister
