In June of this year, the Spatial Community Ecology Lab at Utah State
University together with the Sea Around Us project at the University of
British Columbia reported a ~70% drop in global seabird populations
since the 1950s (Population Trend of the World’s Monitored Seabirds,
1950-2010. M Paleczny, E Hammill, V Karpouzi, D Pauly PloS one 10 (6),
e0129342) While such a substantial drop in seabird numbers is worrying,
the underlying factors generating the decline are unknown. The Spatial
Community Ecology Lab is therefore seeking Ph.D and M.Sc applicants to
undertake research investigating the global processes related to seabird
declines, and potential conservation options. The lab currently has
spatial data on global rates of seabird population changes, and has been
provided data on the distribution and composition of oceanic plastics.
The successful candidate’s first project will be to investigate
relationships between these two data sets. Successful candidates must
have a good working knowledge of either R or ArcGIS, but preferably
both. As part of the position students will be taught to use the
systematic conservation planning tool Marxan. Candidates must be self-
motivated, and evidence of successful scientific writing is a plus. The
ability to manage and work with large data sets will be a crucial
component of the project, and candidates must be comfortable with using
large data sets. The bulk of the work will be carried out at the Logan
Campus of Utah State University, but successful candidates will be
strongly encouraged to spend time with colleagues in research groups
abroad, they must therefore be eligible to visit Canada and Australia.
Utah State University (http://www.usu.edu) is a Research I (Extensive
Doctoral) land-grant institution with a student body of over 24,000, 42
departments, 8 academic colleges, a school of Graduate Studies, and
diverse research programs. The main campus is located in Logan, a
community of 100,000 people. Logan is 85 miles north of Salt Lake City
in scenic Cache Valley, a semi-rural mountain basin with nearby ski
resorts, lakes, rivers, and mountains providing many recreational
opportunities. The area has a low cost of living and provides a high
quality of life. For more information on Logan see
http://www.tourcachevalley.com. Initial funding for tuition and salary
has been secured, however candidates are encouraged to apply to external
fellowships through the NSF and other sources, and internal fellowships
at Utah State
(http://rgs.usu.edu/graduateschool/htm/finances/fellowships, and
http://rgs.usu.edu/graduateschool/finances/funding-available-to-
graduate-students). Candidates will be provided with extensive support
during the application process. Starting salaries are $18,000 for a
Masters student, and $20,000 for a PhD. Please contact Edd Hammill
([email protected], 435 265 5964) for more information or to submit
application materials (CV, cover letter, any publications). Initial
review of applications will begin Dec 10th 2015
