MS Graduate Assistantship - Global change biology and coastal ecology at the
University of Maryland
Seeking one motivated MS student to start June 2016 in the area of tidal
wetland ecology in the Department of Biology at the University of Maryland,
College Park.
The candidate will research the effects of sea level rise and barrier island
migration on wetland plant distributions and blue carbon storage in
back-barrier intertidal salt marshes of the Mid-Atlantic coast. This
research is part of a regional and interdisciplinary investigation of the
response of coupled barrier-backbarrier systems to sea level rise. This
larger effort will examine the effects of barrier island management
activities, such as beach nourishment and shoreline stabilization, on
coastal ecosystem services. The research team includes two coastal
geomorphologists, a natural resource economist, and partners in coastal
management organizations. There will be opportunities to receive
interdisciplinary training in short-term study exchanges at other
institutions and for the candidate to develop additional research questions
and field experiments of their own initiative. Creativity and imagination
will be encouraged.
Required skills: Interested students should have a foundation in ecology or
environmental science. The research will require travel and field work
during the summer. Field work will be physically demanding and in salt marsh
ecosystems, where summer heat, mud, and insects are ubiquitous. Field work
experience is a plus. GIS experience is required. Advanced GIS courses are
available at UMD. Should be able to work independently and collaboratively.
For more information on the project and research goals, please contact Dr.
Keryn Gedan, kge...@umd.edu. For more information on the graduate program
and how to apply, please visit: http://www.mees.umd.edu/admissions/.
