There are two graduate positions available through Wilfrid Laurier University and the Taiga Plains Research Network (www.taigaplains.ca) as part of an ongoing partnership with the Government of the Northwest Territories (http://www.wlu.ca/research/LaurierNWT). We are rapidly expanding our integrative research program to better understand coupled ecological and hydrological responses of permafrost-impacted systems to warming. Our region of focus is the Taiga Plains Ecoregion, which spans the length of the MacKenzie River Valley in the Northwest Territories, Canada. This ecoregion covers a wide latitudinal range and therefore a wide range of permafrost ecosystem characteristics (see map), including boreal, taiga and tundra systems. Details of each position follow and can also be found at www.forestecology.ca.
1) Examination of gall-inducing arthropod impacts in forests on discontinuous permafrost Field Location: Scotty Creek, Northwest Territories Details: Multi-year funding is available for a project aimed at quantifying patterns and impacts of gall-inducing mite herbivory in a boreal forest on permafrost. At Scotty Creek, gall-inducing mite herbivory is remarkably widespread with some tree species housing as many as six distinct types of mite-induced galls. This results in habitat-specific reductions in carbon fixation and water use in galled plants. Using the Scotty Creek Forest Dynamics Plot (part of the Smithsonians Global Earth Observatory Program) as a framework, spatial patterns of galling herbivory and its impacts on leaf and/or whole plant function will be assessed. Because of permafrost thaw, habitat quality can change rapidly for any given individual; using this spatial framework, we can thus test whether abiotic stress associated with permafrost thaw results in increased rates of infestation or an altered foliar or whole-plant response. Similarly, habitat-based differences in galling patterns and implications will be examined. Funding includes a stipend for the graduate student and funds for field assistants, travel expenses, and field supplies. The ideal candidate will be well versed in plant-arthropod interactions and have strong writing and organizational skills. The ability to lead and implement field-sampling logistics is important. Fieldwork will involve extended periods in remote field locations in the Northwest Territories. 2) Quantification of the impact of forest structure and composition on nutrient inputs and active layer properties in a heterogenous boreal forest on discontinuous permafrost Field Location: Scotty Creek, Northwest Territories Details: Multi-year funding is available for a project aimed at examining nutrient and permafrost drivers of the composition and structure of a high latitude boreal forest. The processes governing forest composition and structure on permafrost are complex with both positive and negative feedbacks that presently are poorly understood. At Scotty Creek, there are dramatic differences in the composition and structure of different forest types and the focus of this project will be to better understand the role these differences in patterns of nutrient inputs (snow, litter quantity and quality, decomposition rates) and associated active layer properties. Funding includes a stipend for the graduate student and funds for field assistants, travel expenses, and field supplies. The ideal candidate will have experience establishing manipulative experiments and in the laboratory analysis of field samples. Further, the candidate should have strong writing and organizational skills. The ability to lead and implement field-sampling logistics is important. Fieldwork will involve extended periods in remote field locations in the Northwest Territories. Students will enroll in the graduate program of the Department of Biology at the Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, ON (http://www.wlu.ca/science.biology) in Dr. Jennifer Baltzers research group (www.forestecology.ca) Student must be able to begin work between May and August 2013, and enroll in the university for the Fall 2013 semester. Interested students should contact me directly (jbaltzer at wlu dot ca). Interested individuals should send a resume, transcript (unofficial is fine) and, if possible, a piece of your own written work. Jennifer Baltzer Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Forests and Global Change Cold Regions Research Center and Department of Biology 75 University Ave., Waterloo, ON, N2L 3C5, Canada Phone: (519) 884-0710 ext 4188 Email: jbaltzer at wlu dot ca
