Two MSc positions are available for enthusiastic students interested in ecology and limnology. These students will join the laboratory of Dr. Derek Gray in the Department of Biology at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario (www.graylab.ca<https://lauriercloud-my.sharepoint.com/personal/dgray_wlu_ca/Documents/Administrative/www.graylab.ca>). Both students will conduct research on the response of biological communities in lakes to long-term environmental stressors. Canadian lakes are changing in response to a warming climate, invasive species, and pollution. Understanding and predicting the impact of these changes on organisms in lakes is important for the development of management and adaptation efforts in regions of Canada expected to be affected by environmental change. Students are needed for two projects:
1) Examining the response of zooplankton communities to long-term salinity changes in lakes on the Great Plains of North America. This student will use paleolimnology and resurrection ecology approaches to examine how zooplankton have coped with climate-driven salinity changes on the Great Plains over the last two centuries. This research will allow us to better understand the potential impacts of predicted salinity increases in Great Plains lakes as a result of climate change. 2) Examining the recovery of zooplankton communities in acid-damaged Canadian Shield lakes. This student will examine the challenges of reestablishment for small populations of zooplankton recolonizing lakes damaged by acidification. The student will work with population growth models and examine zooplankton behavior in an effort to better understand the barriers to recolonization when populations occur at low densities. Both students will have the opportunity to gain extensive field and laboratory experience as part of their research projects. Students will be enrolled in the MSc in Integrative Biology Program at Wilfrid Laurier and will be guaranteed a minimum stipend of $21,500 per year for two years supported by a combination of grant funding, scholarships, and teaching assistantships. Information on the MSc program is available here: https://legacy.wlu.ca/page.php?grp_id=4&p=7663 Interested students should have a background in environmental science, ecology, or another related field. Please send a letter of interest describing your background and research interests to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>.
