Applications are being sought from students with grit and optimism who wish to pursue a PhD. Students should also have both curiosity and zest about both behavioral ecology and questions related to our labs research. Current research in our lab focuses on various aspects of the physiology and behavior of sailfin, Atlantic, and Amazon mollies. Amazon mollies, Poecilia formosa, are a clonal, all female species that are sexual parasites, as they require sperm from the closely related sailfin molly, P. latipinna and shortfin molly, P. mexicana, to start the development of their eggs but do not use the sperm to fertilize their eggs. Conflict exists between male mollies that prefer to mate with conspecifics and the Amazon mollies that require matings with these males. See http://www.bio.txstate.edu/~gabor/gabor.htm for details about our lab and our research interests.
The Department of Biology offers a strong environment in evolutionary ecology as the basis for training in behavioral ecology. Students will benefit from interactions with other faculty interested in evolutionary questions, such as: Jim Ott (insect-plant interactions and ecological genetics), Noland Martin (plant population genetics), and Chris Nice (speciation in insects and phylogeography). The doctoral program in Aquatic Resources is very adjustable to meet individual student needs. We will likely have one year of funding from our current NSF grant. In addition, all applicants accepted into the PhD program will be offered a renewable 9-mo Teaching Assistantship plus benefits and in state tuition for up to four years. For more information on admissions to the doctoral program see: http://www.aquaticresources.bio.txstate.edu/ Please also see the Department of Biology (http://www.bio.txstate.edu/) and Texas State University (http://www.txstate.edu/) web sites for more information. Interested students should send an email with a statement of interest that includes a summary of why you are interested in working in our lab, as well as what type of research you are interested in doing. Preference will be given to students who will have a MS degree by spring 2012. Please include a copy of your CV, relevant coursework, GRE, and any other relevant experience to Caitlin Gabor by email (gabor at txstate.edu). Reference letters for top candidates will be solicited at a later date. Applications will be reviewed as they come in. The deadline to apply for our doctoral program is January 15, 2012.
