We seek to recruit a highly motivated doctoral student to pursue dissertation research on the evolutionary history of the island fox, *Urocyon littoralis*. The island fox is smaller than its progenitor, the mainland gray fox, and includes six subspecies, each restricted to a different island in Southern California’s Channel Islands due to their unique migratory history during the Ice Age and thereafter. Extreme population crashes have occurred on several of the islands, leading to federal protection for a subset of the subspecies. The work will take advantage of fossils and historical samples from museum collections, taken before the population crashes, as well as recent samples.
The research will be part of a multidisciplinary project (molecular, morphological and paleontological) involving collaboration between the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies and the University of Southern California. This is a funded project and the Ph.D. student will have five years of support (including tuition remission) through a combination of RAships, TAships and fellowships. Analyses of genetic and morphological changes can be used to address a number of important questions. When did the fox arrive at each island and how much migration has there been amongst islands? Were humans (Paleo-Indians) involved in the colonization of each island? What is the genetic basis for the evolution of dwarfism? How much genetic variation has been lost due to population bottlenecks on the different islands? Potential applicants are encouraged to contact either Xiaoming Wang ( [email protected]) or Suzanne Edmands ([email protected]) for more information. Applications should be submitted to the Integrative and Evolutionary Biology Graduate Program at the University of Southern California ( http://dornsife.usc.edu/bisc/heb/graduate/admissions.cfm). To receive full consideration for university fellowships, applications should be submitted by December 1, 2012. However, later applications will also be considered. -- Suzanne Edmands Associate Professor Department of Biological Sciences 3616 Trousdale Parkway, AHF 316 University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA 90089 (213)740-5548 http://college.usc.edu/labs/edmands/home/index.cfm
