Climate Change and Colorado Plateau Ecosystems ***ONLY U.S. CITIZENS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY***
A postdoctoral/masters position is available at the USGS Canyonlands Research Station located in Moab, UT. The successful candidate will work on a collaborative project examining how climate change (experimentally manipulations with heating lamps and watering treatments) will affect soils, biological soil crusts, plants, and nutrient cycles of the Colorado Plateau. Within the framework of this large, DOE-funded experiment, this position will: 1) oversee treatments and supervise technicians helping with data collection, 2) synthesize data to explore patterns of climate change linkages to ecosystem function, 3) effectively use statistical analyses to assess effects, and 4) communicate results in presentations and peer-reviewed publications. This experiment offers an exciting opportunity to elucidate how climate change – predicted to be notably strong on the Colorado Plateau – will affect the plants, soils, and ecosystem function of the region. Specifically, this position will focus on 1) how treatments affect plant cover, physiology (e.g., gas exchange, fluorimeter), and phenology and 2) exploring why lichens and mosses are dying under the imposed treatments (e.g., lack of osmoprotectants or UV pigments?), using a combination of laboratory and field experiments. A Ph.D./Master degree is required and a background in laboratory and field methods in ecology, plant/moss/lichen physiology, and/or biogeochemistry is preferred. The Canyonlands Research Station is a USGS-BRD facility and the successful applicant would be working with Drs. Jayne Belnap and Sasha Reed. Moab, UT is a small town offering a variety of outdoor adventures, and more information about Moab can be found at www.discovermoab.com. SALARY AND START DATE: Salary depends on degree: for PhD, is $47,500/year and Masters is $38,800 plus full benefits. Preferred start date is late fall, 2012. Position is expected to last 1.5 years, but possibly longer. APPLICATIONS: Interested individuals should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and three references to Sasha Reed (scr...@usgs.gov or mailed to 2290 S.W. Resource Blvd., Moab, UT 84532). Electronic applications are preferred.