Two PhD students are needed to take part in an exciting new study examining interactions among carnivores and ungulates in northern Washington. Two funded positions are available to examine: (1) effects of recolonizing wolves and resident cougars on ungulates (mule deer, white-tailed deer, and elk), and (2) interactions among large and small carnivores (with a focus on wolves, cougars, coyotes, and bobcats). This is a large collaborative multi-predator, multi-prey study beginning in 2017 with funding from NSF and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). The students will be advised by Laura Prugh in the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences at the University of Washington, and they will work closely with other PhD students, professors (Aaron Wirsing and Beth Gardner), and WDFW biologists. Both PhD positions will involve intensive fieldwork and have considerable flexibility in terms of specific questions that will be addressed.
The ungulate-focused position will likely involve assisting with adult GPS collaring operations, leading neonatal captures, assessing habitat conditions, modeling spatial movements, and/or modeling predator-prey interactions. It would be ideal for the student to conduct pilot fieldwork starting in May 2017. The mesocarnivore-focused position will likely involve coyote and bobcat GPS collaring, scat analysis (fecal genotyping and diet), stable isotope analysis, small mammal trapping, monitoring scavenging at ungulate carcasses, and a variety of modeling approaches (e.g., spatial CMR, movement, behavior, demography). This position will start fall 2017. An MS degree, strong academic record, and previous experience with hands-on wildlife research (ideally, with ungulates or carnivores) is required. Strong quantitative skills and a record of publishing in peer-reviewed journals are highly desirable. In exceptional cases, applicants without MS degrees may be considered (e.g., if the applicant has a first-author peer- reviewed publication, excellent academic record, and field experience). To be considered for these opportunities, please send a cover letter outlining your research interests and qualifications, a CV, and contact information for 3 references as a single PDF document to Laura Prugh ([email protected]). To ensure full consideration, submit your materials by December 31, 2016. Be sure to include your undergraduate GPA and GRE percentiles (NOT raw scores) in your materials.
