A post-doctoral position is available starting January 1, 2009, to work on a NSF-funded collaborative research project in the laboratories of Aaron Ellison at the Harvard Forest and Nick Gotelli at the University of Vermont. This position is renewable on an annual basis for up to three years. The project aims to determine effects of warming on populations and communities of ants at the northern (cool) and southern (warm) ends of their present ranges in the eastern United States. Parallel field experiments at Harvard Forest and Duke Forest (the latter run by collaborators Rob Dunn at North Carolina State University and Nate Sanders at the University of Tennessee) will experimentally elevate air temperatures in open-top chambers to assess responses of ants and ant-dispersed herbaceous plants to climatic change. The post-doc will be funded through the University of Vermont and based at the Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts.
Responsibilities include: collect, manage, and analyze data from open-top chambers at Harvard Forest, maintain ant specimen collections, and prepare manuscripts for submission. The post-doc will also build intellectual collaborations with all four PIs and their other students and post-docs, as well as with colleagues from the Ecosystems Center at Woods Hole (Jerry Melillo), Duke University (Jim Clark), and the University of Georgia (Jacqueline Mohan) who are running a set of parallel experiments on the effects of elevated temperature on forest tree seedlings and saplings. Qualifications: Ph.D. in population ecology or a related discipline, either in hand or anticipated by March 1, 2009. Applicants should possess demonstrated expertise with terrestrial field experiments, superb organizational skills, and the ability to work independently and with a team of geographically separated researchers. Preference will be given to applicants with experience in large-scale field projects and expertise in one or more of the following areas: entomology, forest ecology, climate change biology. The position will remain open until filled. Interested candidates who will be attending the 2008 ESA meetings in Milwaukee should contact Aaron Ellison to set up an interview during the meeting.
