We are recruiting a PhD student to work on a project testing how land management techniques affect food availability and quality for bobwhite quail. The student will work in the Wilder lab (http://wildershawn.wixsite.com/wilderlab) in the Department of Integrative Biology at Oklahoma State University. This project is part of a larger collaboration involving faculty members in the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management and provides an opportunity for a student to gain experience with both basic and applied research. While the scope of the PhD project is somewhat flexible, at least part of the work will involve testing how management techniques (e.g., brush or tree removal, prescribed fire) affect the abundance, diversity, and nutritional composition of seeds and arthropods for quail.
The project will involve significant fieldwork at research stations in Western Oklahoma during the spring and summer. Fieldwork will include sampling vegetation and collecting seeds and invertebrates using a range of techniques. Lab work will focus on identifying samples and measuring their nutritional composition. The candidate should have a drivers license and be capable of working in the field for extended periods under challenging conditions (e.g., high temperatures). Pending final budget approval, support will include 3 years of research assistantship and 1 year of teaching assistantship. The ideal candidate will have completed a MS by the summer of 2018, have peer-reviewed publications, and prior fieldwork experience. Although, candidates not meeting these criteria may still apply. To apply, please send a cover letter describing your research experience and qualifications, your CV with GPA and GRE scores, and contact information for 3 references to [email protected]. Please send application materials as soon as possible and no later than January 5, 2018.
