PhD research assistantship: Movement tactics and the impact of human disturbance on large mammals
We are seeking a highly motivated PhD student to participate in a project on the movement tactics of large mammals. The successful candidate will join a research group comprised of biologists and statisticians working on the development of statistical technics to identify the factors influencing animal movements. The student will be in charge of testing some of those methods using existing data on gps-collared mammals (e.g., wolf, bison, caribou and some African species) and fine-scale habitat features. These technics will be used to evaluate the impact of human disturbance (e.g., traffic on forest road, hunting, low altitude flights) on the distribution of forest-dwelling caribou in the Cote-Nord region of Quebec. Because an extensive database will be available, no addition fieldwork is required. The student will be supervised by D. Fortin (U. Laval, www.cef- cfr.ca/index.php?n=Membres.DanielFortin?userlang=en) et A. Massé (Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs). Qualifications: Hold an MSc in terrestrial ecology or related field. Be familiar with the use of Geographic Information Systems, and have a strong interest for statistics and quantitative ecology. Laval University is a French university, and the student will be asked to learn French within the first two years. A scholarship of 18,500$/year is available for 3 years. However, students admissible for NSERC and FQRNT fellowships will be favored. Documents to provide by email: Applicants for this position should forward a short cover letter indicating their motivation, accompanied by a current resume, unofficial transcripts and contact information of three references to: Ariane Massé (ariane.ma...@mrn.gouv.qc.ca). We will start reviewing the applications on 20 May 2014.
