Seeking a highly motivated student to begin graduate research (Ph.D. candidate) at Louisiana State University’s (LSU) Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences (DOCS) in the Spring or Fall of 2016. The student will join a multi-institution team of researchers from LSU, UC Santa Cruz, UNC Wilmington, and the University of Saskatchewan on a multi-disciplinary, NSF- funded project to reconstruct recent and long-term shifts in the Antarctic marine food web.
The student will be based in the Polito Lab at LSU (www.oceanography.lsu.edu/politolab) but will also work closely with Dr. Kelton McMahon and Dr. Matthew McCarthy at UC Santa Cruz (http://keltonmcmahon.sites.ucsc.edu). Specifically, the student will use bulk and compound-specific stable isotope analysis of modern and ancient penguins and other Antarctic krill predators to test hypotheses on trophic versus baseline ecosystem shifts related to climate change and competitive release following historic whale and seal harvesting. This position will include extensive laboratory work at LSU and UCSC as well as field work in Antarctica. Four years of NSF-funded tuition and stipend support are available for the selected candidate and additional support is available via DOCS teaching assistantships and other institutional sources. Desired qualifications include: 1) M.S. degree in biology, ecology, marine science, chemistry, or relevant discipline, 2) Relevant laboratory experience, particularly with stable isotope analyses, and 3) relevant field experience, particularly in remote settings. To Apply: Interested candidates should fill out a pre-application form for the DOCS graduate program (www.oceanography.lsu.edu/index.php/academics/pre- application-form/) and indicate that you would like to work with Dr. Polito. In addition, please email a single pdf containing your CV, a cover letter with your research interests and experience, a brief summary of accomplishments (educational background, GPA, GRE scores), and contact information for at least three professional references to Dr. Michael Polito ([email protected]). Qualified candidates will be contacted directly and encouraged to submit a full application to the Ph.D. graduate program in DOCS. Applications submitted by September 15, 2015 will receive first consideration and the position will remain open until a candidate is selected. While a spring 2016 start date is preferred, we will consider exceptional candidates available to start in fall 2016.
