Dear Ecolog-l Community, Hi, this Fall I began as a PhD student in a Wildlife department within a lab focused on biodiversity and conservation, particularly of mammals, in the tropics. I am starting as a PhD student having never had any previous graduate school experience, and I am expected to develop my own project idea for my dissertation within the realm of the lab's main focus topics.
I have spoken with my adviser and other PhD students, and largely have been told to just keep reading scientific literature to help come up with a project idea, which I know to be essential and I will continue to do; still, I can't help but feel a little lost and overwhelmed by the process and am seeking any additional advice from other PhD students/professionals whomay have gone through the same process and have any additional tips or suggestions. I am most interested in the broad topic of the effects of landscape change/habitat loss/fragmentation on the persistence/conservation/biodiversity of mammals in the tropics; I am especially interested in studying endemic species, and am looking into narrowing in on a focus species. I have always been very interested in Madagascar because of its extremely high level of endemism and its classification as a biodiversity hotspot, but am also looking into countries in Central and South America such as Costa Rica and Peru as potential research sites; again, I need to continue reading literature and doing research to further refine my geographic research focus. In addition, this summer I hope to be able to further explore dissertation ideas by visiting a potential field site (which I should have more narrowed down better by then) and am seeking a travel grant in order to do so. I am a TA and am not supported by a fellowship and therefore would need to find additional funding in order to make this happen. As I do not have a specific focus yet, it has been a bit tricky trying to find grants that do not require a detailed description of exactly what research is to be conducted, but rather allow for exploration of potential ideas and provide funding to do so, outside of the country. Any advice/suggestions would be very much appreciated! Thank you!!
