BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY OF LIVEBEARING FISH Teaching Assistantship for M. S.
Applications are being sought from students with grit and optimism that wish to pursue a Masters degree in Population and Conservation Biology. Students should also have both curiosity and zest about studying various aspects of the behavior ecology of native and introduced mosquitofish and/or sailfin and Amazon mollies starting spring 2017. San Marcos River has both native (Gambusia geiseri) and introduced (G. affinis) species of mosquitofish providing opportunities to ask conservation type questions. Amazon mollies, Poecilia formosa, are a unisexual (all female) species that are essentially sexual parasites as they require sperm from the closely related bisexual sailfin molly, P. latipinna, and Atlantic molly, P. mexicana, but don’t use it to fertilize their eggs. In both systems questions about speciation and species recognition abound. We can offer an Instructional Assistant (teaching labs) for the length of your degree. See http://gabor.wp.txstate.edu/ for details about our lab and our research interests. The Department of Biology offers a strong environment for training students in conservation and evolutionary ecology. The Masters program in Population and Conservation Biology would be the best fit for such an applicant. For program information see http://www.bio.txstate.edu/Graduate-Programs/pop-and-con-biology.html. Interested students should send an email with a statement of interest that includes a summary of topics you might be interested in working on in my lab and your long term goals/interests. Please include a copy of your CV, relevant coursework, GRE, and any other relevant experience to Caitlin Gabor by email (gabor at txstate.edu). Reference letters for top candidates will be solicited at a later date. Applications will be reviewed as they come in. Applications to our Masters program are evaluated on a rolling basis so it is possible to start spring 2017.
