PROJECT: Im looking for a motivated undergraduate or recent graduate to assist with ecology fieldwork in Minnesota this summer (approx. length June- Aug). I study plant community ecology and competition/ facilitation between grasses and trees.
Woody encroachment into grasslands and the eventual conversion of these communities into closed canopy forests is a global phenomenon. These large-scale shifts in species composition are largely due to fire suppression. However, in the absence of fire, standing grassland diversity has a large effect on colonizer success. I am investigating how biodiversity affects woody seedling growth in grasslands in central Minnesota. Do woody colonizers do BETTER in high diversity grasslands when seedlings are small? How does environmental severity affect this relationship? Conversely, how does diversity suppress woody growth when seedlings are large? POSITION: This position is for a field assistant at the Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve in central Minnesota. The fieldwork will be conducted in the BioCON experiment (http://www.biocon.umn.edu/). This field station is home to some of the most exciting plant ecology research/ global change research in the world. The field station houses a large group of interns over the course of the summer. Furthermore, the field station is a University of Minnesota site and will provide the opportunity to meet and make contacts with some of the most prominent scientists in Ecology today. In the field, we will be planting white pine and bur oak seedlings. We will be censusing seedlings on a weekly basis and closely monitoring micro- climate within the BioCON plots (soil moisture, soil temperature, percent light transmission, etc). Near the end of the summer we may be taking ecophysiological measurements including photosynthetic rates, water potential, etc. The intern will be offered a small living stipend + housing on site. Alternatively, there may be an option to commute from the twin cities (MN) and be paid a slightly larger living stipend. CONTACT: If this type of field ecology sounds interesting to you please contact me with a cover letter outlining your interests and qualifications, dates of availability and contact information. Also include, names, phone numbers, and email addresses of two references, your resume, and most recent academic transcript. I am looking to hire someone as soon as possible. Please contact me ASAP through either the email address or telephone number below (email preferred). Thanks! --------------------------- Alexandra (Sasha) Wright Ph.D. Student Department of Biological Sciences University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Lapham Hall 3209 N. Maryland Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53201 phone: 305-989-0226 email: [email protected]
