POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATE - COMMUNITY ECOLOGY Tyson Research Center, Washington University in St. Louis
A Postdoctoral Research Associate position is available in the research group of Jonathan Myers at Washington University in St. Louis. In collaboration with Myers, the successful candidate will develop a project to explore mechanisms that shape the assembly, diversity, or dynamics of ecological communities across scales. Potential research topics include biodiversity and community assembly across ecological and biogeographic gradients, spatial and temporal variation in biodiversity in response to environmental change (e.g., drought and/or fire disturbance), and the ecological consequences of plant functional diversity across scales. Empirical research will be largely based at Washington University's Tyson Research Center (TRC); an 800-ha field station located 20 miles from campus. The TRC boasts a 25-ha forest-dynamics plot that is part of a global network of plots coordinated through the Smithsonian Center for Tropical Forest Science and Global Earth Observatory (CTFS-ForestGEO), additional forest plots that are part of a regional network in the Missouri Ozarks, a newly established research garden, and opportunities for experimental and observational studies in forest, glade and prairie ecosystems. Opportunities also exist for comparative studies across larger biogeographic gradients spanning temperate and tropical plant communities. Preference will be given to applicants that have strong quantitative skills (e.g., likelihood, simulation or spatial analyses in R), experience with analysis of long-term or spatially-explicit forest-plot data sets, and/or an interest in comparative studies involving empirical synthesis or replicated field studies across diversity gradients. Please refer to the Myers group website for examples of current research projects: http://biology4.wustl.edu/faculty/myers The successful candidate will join a growing and interactive community of ecologists and evolutionary biologists at Washington University, the TRC, and the St. Louis Ecology, Evolution and Conservation consortium of local partner institutions (http://www.sleec.weebly.com). In addition to developing a collaborative research program, candidates should have an expressed interest in mentoring undergraduate and high school research interns at the TRC, organizing the TRC Summer Seminar Series, and being an active member of a dynamic field station. The successful candidate will also team-teach a seminar-style, 1-credit course for undergraduates in the spring. The course provides a unique opportunity for the candidate to gain experience in developing and leading their own course, while training and recruiting undergraduates for the TRC Summer Undergraduate Research Program (May-July). Funding for salary and modest research expenses is available for one year with the possibility of extension. Review of applications will begin November 15, 2014 and will continue until the position is filled. However, candidates are encouraged to e-mail Jonathan Myers ([email protected]) to indicate interest in the position as soon as possible. The start date is flexible, but ideally the candidate will start between January and April 2015, prior to the start of the TRC Summer Program in May. To apply, please combine into a single PDF file your CV, a one-page statement of research interests focusing on potential projects that would complement existing research in the Myers group, and the names and contact information of three references. Application materials must be submitted electronically through https://jobs.wustl.edu by entering the job ID number (29354) as a keyword under Basic Search. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jonathan A. Myers Department of Biology Washington University in St. Louis Saint Louis, MO 63130 USA E-mail: [email protected] Telephone (Campus): (314) 935-3167 Telephone (Tyson Research Center): (314) 935-8443 Fax: (314) 935-4432 Website: http://biology4.wustl.edu/faculty/myers/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
