Mianus River Gorge Research Assistantship Grant for Graduate Students Program Description Each year, the Mianus River Gorge (MRG) awards a Research Assistantship Program (RAP) grant to fund a graduate-level study that investigates environmental challenges in urban and suburban ecosystems. RAP students are awarded a grant of $5,000/yr for two (Master’s) or three (Doctoral) years.
The overarching purpose of this grant is to answer ecological questions related both to conservation in urban and suburban landscapes generally, and to specific issues affecting the MRG Preserve and/or the Mianus Watershed. Thus, while we are happy to consider proposals from students from any location, our local-scale interest combined with the high school mentorship requirements (see below) means that we tend to award the grant to students located in and/or focused on the northeast US. Applicant Eligibility • Applicant must be willing to mentor a high school student in our authentic research program, the Wildlife Technician Program (WTP). • Proposed research must directly contribute to a better understanding of urban and suburban ecosystems from a management perspective. We are interested in applied research that will inform land management and develop conservation strategies for natural areas in urbanized landscape, and provide management recommendations to our staff on stewarding the MRG Preserve and the Mianus Watershed. • Proposed projects can be multi-disciplinary and cover a range of topics, e.g., wildlife biology, human ecology, watershed or forest management, and ecosystem processes. • Candidates must be enrolled in a U.S. accredited college (Master’s or PhD program). • All proposed studies should include the Gorge or its watershed as one of the study sites although other sites may be used (and is encouraged to provide regional relevance to your findings). Evaluation Criteria • Mentor potential – Does the project provide research opportunities to a high school student? • Research implications - How can the proposed research contribute to improved management, restoration, or conservation of natural resources in suburban and urban landscapes? How will the proposed research inform management of the Mianus River Gorge and/or the Mianus Watershed specifically? • Project duration - Can the proposed project provide meaningful results during the student’s tenure? • Funding - Can the research be completed with existing resources? • Innovative – Does the research utilize new methodologies, theories, or management strategies? • Impact on existing resource – We are interested in studies that employ methods that minimize disturbance or impact upon the population or resource being studied, particularly in the MRG Preserve itself, whenever possible. If highly invasive or destructive sampling is proposed, there should be a strong justification for its need and a lack of alternatives. Students interested in all aspects of applied ecology and conservation are encouraged to submit a proposal to RAP, but this year we are particularly interested in studies that focus on two topics: 1. Evaluating the health of our eastern hemlock stands in general and with special regard to effects of hemlock wooly adelgid and elongate scale, and possible indirect effects of "predatory" ascomycete fungus (and possibly others). The Gorge is home to a remnant stand of old-growth hemlock forest. Our hemlocks are infected with HWA and HES but appear to be in good health compared to other stands in the region where hemlocks are dying off rapidly. We would like an experienced lab to determine, first, if our impression regarding our hemlocks' relative health is correct, and if so, why that is. Ideally this would fit within the context of a larger study on hemlock conservation, restoration, etc. across the region. 2. Developing techniques for restoring species and ecosystem function in suburban and exurban landscapes. This need is rather broad and, for example, can range from developing planting or restoration techniques to human dimensions/social science research on how to build conservation ethics and stewardship action on private lands, community buy-in, etc. Application Process Applications are reviewed in two stages. To attract a broad array of ideas, we ask candidates to describe their project in two to four pages. Those candidates whose application successfully meets the above evaluation criteria will be interviewed and asked to provide a more detailed proposal before a final decision is made. We encourage prospective applications to contact us if they have any questions about the grant program (research @mianus.org or 914-234-3455). Please apply by May 1, 2016 at: http://www.mianus.org/what-we-do/research-and-education/graduate -level/rap-application/ For examples of previous RAP and WTP projects, see: http://www.mianus.org/what-we-do/research-and-education/ -- Chris Nagy, Ph.D. Director of Research and Land Management - Mianus River Gorge, Bedford, NY [email protected] <[email protected]> 914.234.3455 www.mianus.org www.gothamcoyote.com www.wildsuburbiaproject.com
