GRADUATE POSITION ON PREDATOR SENSITIVITY TO EXTINCTION The Aquatic Ecology and Global Change Lab in the Department of Watershed Sciences at Utah State University is seeking Ph.D or M.Sc applicants to undertake research on predator sensitivity to extinction. Trophic cascades are a charismatic topic in ecology, and one that has received wide attention from both the scientific and public community. The drive for understanding the effects of predator loss on the structuring and functioning of ecological communities is largely based on the assumption that predators are at a high risk of local or global extinction. Yet several studies that have investigated ecological mechanisms that underlie extinction risk have failed to investigate whether trophic level is an important trait. As a result the question still remains, “Are predators at a higher risk of extinction compared to other trophic levels?” The project involves meta-analyses and working with big data. The successful applicant will be based out of the Atwood (http://trishaatwood.weebly.com/) and Hammill lab’s at Utah State University, but will work closely with the McCauley lab (https://labs.eemb.ucsb.edu/mccauley/doug/) at the University of California, Santa Barbra (USA) and the Madin lab (http://oceansphere.org/) at Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia). Although this project does not contain a field component extensive travel to California and Australia is required. As a results the selected student must be able to travel and have a clear criminal record. Students with a prior knowledge of computer programming, the statistical programming package R, ArcGIS, and prior experience extracting and analyzing big data are particularly encouraged to apply. Student must meet the minimum qualifications for acceptance into the graduate program: GPA of at least 3.4, 50th percentile in both verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE’s, three letters of recommendation.
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 strongly encouraged to apply for 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 extensive support with the application process. Starting salaries are $20,000 for a PhD. Please contact Trisha Atwood ([email protected], 435 797 5729) for more information or to submit application materials (CV, cover letter, any publications, details of research interests, official/unofficial GRE scores and transcripts, and names of three people willing to provide a letter of reference). Lab website http://trishaatwood.weebly.com/
