GRADUATE STUDENT POSITION I am recruiting a graduate student (M.S. or PhD if masters degree is already in hand) for a research project involving characterization of insect flight behavior using laboratory flight mill systems (http://www.ent.iastate.edu/). I am a Research Entomologist with USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research Unit, with a courtesy faculty appointment in the Department of Entomology at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. My laboratory is located on the ISU campus.
Our group's mission is to study the population ecology, genetics, and behavior of corn insect pests, and my interests are mainly in the realm of dispersal, migration, and gene flow. The graduate student will work with at least two pest insects. The western corn rootworm (WCR), Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, is a chrysomelid beetle and the worst pest of corn in North America. It also is spreading in Europe as an invasive species. It recently has developed resistance in the Midwestern U.S. to a particular type of transgenic Bt corn, with many implications for farmers, industry, public-sector scientists, and government regulators. Characterization of long-distance movement of WCR adults is critical to understanding the dynamics of resistance evolution and spread of resistance in this insect. The grad student's main project would be to investigate and compare flight behaviors of resistant and wild-type WCR using laboratory flight mills. In addition, the western bean cutworm, Striacosta albicosta, is a noctuid moth pest of corn that has undergone a recent range expansion out of the Great Plains to the East Coast. The trigger for the expansion is unknown, and almost nothing is known about this species' flight capacity and behavior. Recent establishment of a laboratory colony will allow flight mill studies. It will be a demanding project requiring attention to detail, perseverance (especially in the beginning when learning to tether insects to the flight mills), and critical thinking. The information gained for both species will be of immediate interest to the scientific community and of ultimate benefit to corn growers. There will be room for additional side projects as well depending on the student's interests and talents. Pending final approval of funding (anticipated), this will be a research assistantship, including stipend and tuition, for 2.5 3 years. Start date: as soon as practicable, but preferably no later than mid-August 2013. If interested, please send to me: 1) a cover letter describing your background in science, career goals, and research interests; 2) your C.V.; 3) contact information for three references; 4) copy of transcripts; and 5) GRE scores. Please send to tom.sapping...@ars.usda.gov . Screening will begin immediately, and continue until the position is filled.
