We are recruiting a PhD student to begin in the fall of 2016 on a project focused on the distribution and ecology of mammalian predator communities. The student will work with Dr. David Miller (http://ecosystems.psu.edu/directory/dxm84) and Dr. Duane Diefenbach (http://ecosystems.psu.edu/directory/drd11) in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management at Pennsylvania State University and participate in the Inter-Department Ecology Graduate Program (http://www.huck.psu.edu/education/ecology/).
The project will focus on understanding spatial-temporal structure of mammalian predator communities in Pennsylvania forests and how this relates to predation risk of white-tailed deer fawns. The project will combine data from 3 large data sets: systematic camera trap data for mammalian predators including black bear, coyote, bobcat, fox, and fisher; mark-recapture, recovery, and resight data for black bears; and movement and cause–specific mortality data from radio-tracked white- tailed deer fawns. The goals of the project are to 1) develop and implement approaches to combine camera-trap data and mark-recapture data to improve estimates of distribution and abundance, 2) examine how predator community composition varies across space and time in PA landscapes, and 3) examine how predator distributions relates to predation risk. Qualifications: The ideal candidate will have a strong interest in quantitative ecology, population demography, and in predator ecology. Other preferred qualifications include knowledge of methods used to estimate demographic parameters (e.g., mark-recapture) and species distribution (e.g., occupancy). Preference will be given to candidates with an M.S. degree in Ecology, Wildlife Biology, Statistics, or other similar fields. To apply: Interested applicants should email a cover letter including a description of their research interests, CV including GRE scores and GPA, and names and contact information for 3 references as a single pdf file to Dr. David Miller ([email protected]). We will review applications as they arrive.
