Postdoctoral Opportunity in Ecology at University of Nevada, Reno A postdoctoral position is available in Hall Cushman’s lab in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science at the University of Nevada, Reno. The lab has recently moved from California to Nevada, and will be continuing an existing project in the Bay Area and establishing new ones in the greater Reno area. Research in the lab focuses on population, community and ecosystem ecology, with emphasis on plant invasions, plant-herbivore interactions and the dynamics and recruitment of tree/shrub populations. This work has an applied emphasis, is strongly field-oriented, and relies heavily on the use of experiments stratified across environmental gradients.
The Postdoctoral Fellow will contribute to the lab’s research efforts in the following areas: 1) Aspen recruitment and regeneration in the Sierra Nevada, and the importance of conifer invasion, herbivory and other biotic factors in mediating these phenomena. 2) Cascading effects of reintroducing once extirpated large mammals on coastal ecosystems in northern California (see Ender et al. 2017, Ecology and Evolution 7:1561–1571). 3) Montane meadow restoration in the Sierra Nevada and the role of shrub and conifer encroachment in mediating these efforts. Other projects in Great Basin and/or Sierra Nevada ecosystems can also be explored, and the Postdoctoral Fellow will be expected to collaborate on writing grant proposals to support ongoing research. The ideal Postdoctoral Fellow will be an individual who can collaborate effectively on projects with other lab members and can also develop their own projects within the lab’s study systems. The Postdoctoral Fellow must be an excellent writer and field ecologist, have well-developed abilities to analyze large data sets and have a strong record as a highly productive scientist. The hope is that this position will continue for three years, although this will be contingent on the postdoc’s performance and productivity as well as funding. The exact start date for this position is flexible, although sometime in 2018 is expected. If you are interested in this position, please send a detailed letter of interest, CV and the names and contact information of at least three referees to Hall Cushman at jhcush...@unr.edu. J. Hall Cushman, Professor & Chair Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Science University of Nevada Reno, NV 89557 775.784.4000 (voicemail) jhcush...@unr.edu
