The East Carolina University (ECU) Fisheries Oceanography Lab run by Dr.
Rebecca Asch is currently recruiting new Masters and Ph.D. students to
join this research group for the 2017-2018 academic year.This is a newly
established lab that will open in January 2017.The Asch Lab’s research
program will focus on interactions between fisheries, plankton ecology,
and climate change and climate variability.Our research approach
combines fieldwork, time series analysis, and ecosystem modeling,
spanning local-to-global and subseasonal-to-centennial scales. For more
information about the Asch Lab, please see:
http://www.ecu.edu/cs-cas/biology/Rebecca_Asch.cfm
We seek students who are highly self-motivated, independent, and
creative thinkers that are enthusiastic about pursuing a career in
marine ecology, oceanography, and/or fisheries management.**A strong
background in quantitative ecology, computer programming (/e.g/.,
MATLAB, R, Python), and/or multivariate statistics is desired, but not
required.There are several current and soon to be initiated projects
that a prospective student could develop into a thesis or dissertation:
·*Examining seasonal variations in predator-prey interactions among
larval fishes and mesozooplankton and their influence on recruitment to
fisheries.*This project will entail collaborating with an existing
graduate student in the Asch Lab who is inaugurating a new
ichthyoplankton time series with weekly sampling in Beaufort Inlet.The
prospective student will contribute to this project by collecting
mesozooplankton samples and using ZooScan to develop a machine learning
algorithm to classify zooplankton taxa in an automated fashion.
·*Investigating how changes in the distribution and phenology (/e.g/.,
seasonal timing) of spawning aggregations of reef fishes will affect
larval dispersal, growth, and survival.*This project will build off an
existing collaboration between Dr. Asch and Dr. Brad Erisman at the
University of Texas Marine Science Institute.
·*Assessing the causes of recruitment failure of striped bass in the Tar
and Roanoke Rivers.*The prospective student will conduct surveys of
ichthyoplankton to assess spawning effort in these rivers, examine water
quality, and concurrently sample zooplankton to quantify the abundance
of potential prey items and predators for larval fishes.This project
will be co-supervised with Dr. Roger Rulifson at ECU.
We also welcome applications from students who are interested in
developing their own research ideas into a thesis or dissertation, as
long as those ideas are closely connected with the research objectives
of the Asch Lab.
Information on graduate programs in the ECU Department of Biology is
available
at:http://www.ecu.edu/cs-cas/biology/BiologyGrad/index.cfm.Doctoral
students can apply to work in the Asch Lab either through the Coastal
Resources Management (CRM) Program or the Interdisciplinary Doctoral
Program in Biological Sciences (IDPBS).The priority deadline to apply
for graduate admissions is January 15, 2017.However, prospective
students should contact Rebecca Asch by email ([email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>) in advance of this deadline.This email should
include: (1) a brief statement describing your research interests and
career goals; (2) A C.V. or resume, and; (3) an unofficial academic
transcript.
--
*** I will start a new faculty position in the Department of Biology
at East Carolina University (ECU) in January 2017. My new ECU email
address will be [email protected]. ***
Rebecca G. Asch, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Senior Nereus Fellow
Princeton University
Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Sayre Hall, Room 314
300 Forrestal Road
Princeton, NJ 08540
Cell: (617) 697-8375
Office phone: (609) 258-2904
Email: [email protected]
