Two motivated PhD student applicants are sought to work on projects related to a recently funded, highly collaborative, NSF Dimensions of Biodiversity project at the University of Nevada Reno. The research is focused on a well-studied, tropical system involving plants in the genus Piper (Piperaceae), associated herbivores, and parasitoid wasps and flies. Research will utilize transformative and innovative approaches to quantifying biodiversity that will allow us to link measures of interaction diversity at an ecologically relevant scale to genetic diversity, genetic structure, and plant chemical diversity. The research includes work in genomics, physiology, and phytochemistry laboratories, as well as field experiments and sampling in Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, and Brazil. We are looking for students broadly interested in evolutionary biology and ecology, with specific interests in the evolution of tri-trophic interactions, population genomics, and the ecological and evolutionary consequences of phytochemical variation. We are an interdisciplinary group of ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and chemists; more information about representative research activities can be found at webpages for the various faculty participants (Dyer, Forister, Jeffrey, Parchman, Richards, Smilanich; http://www.unr.edu/eecb/people).
UNR has a strong interdisciplinary PhD program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology (http://environment.unr.edu/eecb/). Graduate students accepted into the EECB program are guaranteed financial support through Teaching Assistantships (TAs) which includes health insurance and an out-of-state tuition waiver. In addition, funds associated with this project are available for summer support, Research Assistantships (RAs), and for field work and data collection associated with specific doctoral dissertation projects. University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) is a Tier I research university located in a spectacular environment at the confluence of the Great Basin and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The faculty and graduate students at UNR are highly interactive and include an internationally known group of evolutionary biologists and ecologists. We are equipped with cutting edge molecular and computational resources for modern genome sequence analysis, and a state of the art facility for phytochemical and metabalomic research. In addition to the tropical research, we are also located in an ideal setting for field-based science in the Great Basin and Sierra Nevada regions, allowing enviable access to spectacular montane and desert ecosystems. Reno is 45 minutes from Lake Tahoe, offers a high quality of living, an excellent climate, and is a large enough city to offer diverse activities and amenities. World class rock climbing, skiing, and mountain biking opportunities are in extremely close proximity. Those interested should contact us via email ([email protected], [email protected], [email protected]; and see eecb link above for other addresses) with a description of your interests, qualifications and preliminary application materials (CV, GRE scores, names and contact information for three references).
