Graduate Research Opportunity. The University of Kansas, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Kansas Biological Survey has a position available for a student seeking a Master's degree starting in fall 2013. The successful applicant will analyze and further develop a long-term data set describing patterns of forest succession at the KU Field Station, which represents the eastern deciduous forest/tallgrass prairie ecotone. The student will be jointly mentored by community ecologist Dr. Bryan Foster (http://www2.ku.edu/~eeb/faculty/foster.shtml) and ecosystem ecologist Dr. Sharon Billings (http://kbs.ku.edu/people/staff_www/billings). Field work will include re-sampling forest plots established in the 1980s to investigate spatial and temporal patterns in tree demography and forest succession. The particular focus of the project will depend on student interest and project trajectory, but likely will test ideas pertaining to forest community establishment, succession and persistence, links between community composition and ecosystem function, and ecological theory. Experience with any or all of these topics is desirable. The successful applicant must be eager to contribute to our labs' capabilities and intellectual environment, and can benefit from the broad expertise of the EEB's faculty members (see www.ku.edu/~eeb). Information on the EEB graduate program and the application procedure can be found at http://www2.ku.edu/~eeb/graduate/. Interested candidates should send a c.v., brief statement of purpose demonstrating scientific interests and writing acuity, and a brief description of their educational background that includes a list of science and mathematics classes to Dr. Sharon Billings at [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> or to Dr. Bryan Foster at [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>.
********** Dr. Sharon A. Billings Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Kansas Biological Survey, Higuchi Hall University of Kansas Lawrence, KS 66047 785-864-1560 http://kbs.ku.edu/people/staff_www/billings/ http://kuerg.ku.edu/
