The Ponisio Lab is seeking an experienced field ecologist to lead a field season investigating pollinator interactions in the Madrean Sky Islands. This project will explore how interaction patterns at the individual, species, and network levels affect ecosystem resilience and function, and how the assembly history of a community influences those patterns. This is a collaborative project with Shalene Jha at the University of Texas and Terry Griswold at the USDA Logan Bee Lab.
We will be sampling plant-pollinator communities in southeastern Arizona and northern New Mexico from mid-July to mid-September 2018. A typical field day will involve either driving or hiking to sites in high-elevation meadows, collecting pollinators for approximately five hours, and pinning samples back at the campsite. We intend to camp for 3-4 days at a time, then return to a field station (Sevilleta Field Station in New Mexico). We will work in teams of two, and rotate the teams around the sampling sites. The ideal candidate for this position will be able to quickly and confidently learn sampling protocols, appropriately assign responsibilities to team members with varying experience levels, and confidently solve problems for the team while in the field. *Responsibilities* -Field monitoring and collection of pollinators -Processing insect specimens in the lab, including pinning bees and labeling samples -Management of day-to-day sampling schedule and supplies -Data entry into spreadsheets -Periodic monitoring of trap nesting surveys or other miscellaneous pollination experiments *Qualifications* *Required* -Bachelor’s degree in relevant field -Previous field experience, preferably working with pollinators -Interest in botany, entomology, conservation biology, and field ecology -Attention to detail (will be collecting and working with original data) -Highly motivated and able to work independently -Ability to work in field under variable weather conditions for long hours -Valid Drivers License *Preferred*-Master’s degree in relevant field -Previous experience studying pollinators, especially native bees -Car camping and/or backpacking experience -Previous field experience in the southwestern US The salary for this position is $2641 - $3082 monthly, depending on previous experience Candidates should apply for this position by April 10th by emailing Kaysee Tom at kathleen....@ucr.edu with Field Lead Application YourLastName as the subject line, e.g. “Field Tech Application Smith.” Please include a cover letter, CV, and the names and contact information for 2-3 references. *About the Ponisio Lab* The Ponisio Lab (http://www.ponisiolab.com) is a new lab at the University of California, Riverside. With continued degradation of ecosystems, we need to know how to restore biodiversity, both for conservation and to ensure the provision of essential services provided by nature. To manage and restore diversity in human-modified systems, however, we need to understand the mechanisms that originally maintained biodiversity. The Ponisio Lab studies the mechanisms operating in complex systems, specifically ecological communities, that underlie diversity maintenance. The questions we are currently tackling are along these lines: 1) How do the characteristics of communities affect interaction patterns? 2) How do interaction patterns feedback to affect the characteristics of communities? 3) How can we design (restore) degraded communities to promote stability and evolutionary potential (applying all the principles learned from the above)?
