We are looking for an exceptional Ph.D. student to build on our research program in Swaziland and South Africa (Kruger Park). Recognizing the need for rigorous evidence to isolate the influence of elephants on savanna dynamics, we are initiating a large-scale field experiment in Kruger National Park in South Africa. This experiment affords a tremendous opportunity to isolate the specific influence of elephants on ecological patterns and the ecological processes that underpin those patterns. We are looking for a student to develop a project that utilizes this experiment as well as the long-term monitoring data that has and will continue to be collected as part of this program. This project can take many potential forms and will be a collaborative effort with researchers at University of Florida, OTS (Organization for Tropical Studies) South Africa and the University of Swaziland. At the University of Florida students will work directly with Drs. McCleery (http://www.themccleerylab.org/), Fletcher (http://plaza.ufl.edu/robert.fletcher/) and Frazier (http://sfrc.ufl.edu/people/faculty/Frazer). This position will require students to conduct research in Southern Africa for extended periods of time (2 years or more). This is an extraordinarily challenging and rewarding commitment that should not be taken lightly.
We are looking for a self-motivated independent student with a previous record of academic achievement, publications, and field experience in remote locations. Applicants must have completed or be in the process of finishing a M.S. Degree. Applicants also must have a minimum 3.5 grade point average, greater than 312 on verbal and quantitative GREs, and considerable field experience. To apply, send a resume including GRE scores and GPA, a brief explanation how you are prepared for PhD program and over-seas research, and a list of 3 references to Dr. Robert McCleery ramccle...@ufl.edu by Dec 15th. We will begin reviewing applications as they come in. Information about the City of Gainesville: Situated in the rolling countryside of north central Florida, Gainesville is much more than a stereotypical college town. Home of the University of Florida, seat of Alachua County's government and the region's commercial hub, it is progressive, environmentally conscious and culturally diverse. The presence of many students and faculty from abroad among its 120,000-plus population adds a strong cross-cultural flavor to its historic small-town Southern roots. Its natural environment, temperate climate and civic amenities make Gainesville a beautiful, pleasant and interesting place in which to learn and to live. Gainesville has been ranked as one of the best cities to live in the United States. Florida boasts a diversity of fauna and flora common to both southern temperate and subtropical climates and is replete with springs, rivers, backwater streams, lakes, freshwater and saltwater marshes, mangrove fringes, cypress swamps, hardwood hammocks, sandhills, scrub, pine flatwoods, and rangeland. Nested between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, Florida has more than 2,000 kilometers of coastal beaches and estuaries. Special features include the Florida Keys, which constitute an archipelago of picturesque subtropical islands, and the unique Everglades, or “river of grass,” which sprawls across the vast southern peninsula. Information about the University of Florida: The University of Florida (http://www.ufl.edu) is a Land-Grant, Sea-Grant, and Space-Grant institution, encompassing virtually all academic and professional disciplines, with an enrollment of more than 50,000 students. It was recently ranked in the top 10 public universities by U.S. News and its natural resource and conservation programs were ranked 3rd in the country in a 2017 report. Several units on or nearby the University of Florida campus complement the teaching and research programs of the Department, including The Florida Climate Institute, an interdisciplinary center hosted at UF and comprising 7 Florida universities; Biotechnologies for Ecological, Evolutionary, and Conservation Sciences; the Tropical Conservation and Development Program in the Center for Latin American Studies; Center for Natural Resources; Center for Wetlands; Center for Biological Conservation; Pre-eminence initiatives in Bioinformatics and Biodiversity; Florida Museum of Natural History; Northeast Regional Data Center; National Ecology Laboratory (Sirenia) of USGS; Florida Field Station (Gainesville) of the U.S.D.A. Wildlife Research Laboratory; Southeastern Forest Experiment Station unit of the U.S. Forest Service; The Nature Conservancy; the Wildlife Conservation Society; the Wildlife Research Laboratory of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; and others.
