A graduate research assistantship is available at the University of Maine for a student interested in microbial response to altered watershed biogeochemistry. The successful applicant will be involved in a NSF-funded project that examines how nitrogen and acid deposition change microbial community composition and nitrogen pathways at a long term, whole-watershed experiment site in Maine. The research integrates a whole-watershed stable nitrogen isotope tracer study with detailed microbial and biogeochemical analyses of factors including abundance of nitrogen fixation, nitrification, and denitrification genes by qPCR, microbial community composition (by qPCR, PLFA analysis and substrate induced respiration with specific inhibitors), and microbial enzyme activity in soils and streams. The student will be part of a collaborative team of terrestrial and stream ecologists, soil chemists, and geochemists. Field work will be conducted at a forested NSF Long-Term Research in Environmental Biology (LTREB) site in Maine.
Ph.D. students are preferred, but M.S. students may apply. Applicants with experience in molecular and microbial techniques are preferred. The assistantship includes a stipend, tuition, and health insurance. Interested applicants should contact Dr. Jean MacRae ([email protected]) or Dr. Kevin Simon ([email protected]) and send a letter of interest (prior accomplishments, research experience and interests, future career goals), a CV, transcripts, and GRE scores. Details about the graduate program at the University of Maine can be found through the School of Biology and Ecology (http://biology.umaine.edu/), the Ecology and Environmental Sciences Program (http://ees.umaine.edu/), and the graduate school (http://www2.umaine.edu/graduate/). The University of Maine, in Orono, is conveniently situated between Acadia National Park on the scenic Maine coast and the western mountain region that includes Mt. Katahdin and the Moosehead Lake regions. For more information about the University of Maine go to http://www.umaine.edu/.
