PhD Assistantship in Avian Population Ecology I seek a creative and self-motivated doctoral student to conduct research on life history trade-offs in eastern bluebirds. Key project objectives are to understand how bluebird migration distance varies with latitude, how environmental conditions and genetic makeup contribute to this variation, and the consequences for trade-offs between survival and reproduction. The student will have freedom to develop a dissertation topic, so long as it overlaps with these objectives. Fieldwork will begin in March 2015 and will initially take place in Maryland, but will expand to New England and South Carolina in subsequent years. The student will join the lab of Dr. Colin Studds <http://studdslab.wordpress.com/> at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). I welcome applications from students with a record of academic excellence, a strong interest in avian ecology, and extensive training in the observation, capture, and handling of wild birds. Ideal candidates will have a MS degree, skill with quantitative methods, at least one publication, and graduate coursework in statistics and ecology. I will consider exception candidates with only a BS degree if they have conducted independent undergraduate research. The successful applicant will need to meet the entrance requirements for doctoral candidates in the Department of Geography and Environmental Systems at UMBC <http://ges.umbc.edu/>.
To apply, email your CV (including names, phone numbers, and email addresses of three references) and a one-page statement of research interests to <[email protected]>. Applications should arrive no later than Jan 1 2015.
