A MS or PhD assistantship is available to study fish biodiversity in small rivers and streams in the Ozarks and Ouachita Mountains, Oklahoma. The student will join the Neeson lab (neesonlab.oucreate.com) in the Dept. of Geography and Environmental Sustainability at the University of Oklahoma. The project is funded by the Oklahoma Dept. of Wildlife Conservation and is aimed at assessing the status and trends of fish communities in the region, as well as their relationships to ecosystem stressors (e.g., habitat loss and fragmentation). The project complements ongoing work in our lab and in the department focused on interactions between freshwater ecosystems and transportation infrastructure, and there is considerable room for the student to develop novel research directions along these lines. Strong candidates will have experience with standard field methods for sampling fish communities in wadeable rivers and streams; experience with GIS and project data management; the ability to supervise a small team of two undergraduate field assistants; and excellent writing skills. Anticipated start date is August 2017. To apply, please send a cover letter, CV, GRE scores, and contact information for three references to nee...@ou.edu by January 15, 2017.
