GRADUATE POSITION ON PREDATOR SENSITIVITY TO EXTINCTION The Aquatic
Ecology and Global Change Lab in the Department of Watershed Sciences at
Utah State University is seeking Ph.D applicants to undertake research
on predator sensitivity to extinction. Trophic cascades are a
charismatic topic in ecology, and one that has received wide attention
from both the scientific and public community. The drive for
understanding the effects of predator loss on the structuring and
functioning of ecological communities is largely based on the assumption
that predators are at a high risk of local or global extinction. Yet
several studies that have investigated ecological mechanisms that
underlie extinction risk have failed to investigate or show that trophic
level is an important trait. As a result the question still remains,
“Are predators at a higher risk of extinction compared to other trophic
levels?” The project will involve meta-analyses and working with big
data. The successful applicant will be based out of the Atwood
(http://trishaatwood.weebly.com/) and Hammill labs at Utah State
University, but will visit and work closely with the McCauley lab
(https://labs.eemb.ucsb.edu/mccauley/doug/) at the University of
California, Santa Barbra (USA) and the Madin lab
(http://oceansphere.org/) at Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia).
Students with a prior knowledge of computer programming, the statistical
programming package R, ArcGIS, and prior experience extracting and
analyzing big data are particularly encouraged to apply. Students must
meet the minimum qualifications for acceptance into the graduate
program: GPA of at least 3.4, 40th percentile in both verbal and
quantitative sections of the GRE’s, three letters of recommendation.
Utah State University (http://www.usu.edu) is a Research I (Extensive
Doctoral) land-grant institution with a student body of over 24,000, 42
departments, 8 academic colleges, a school of Graduate Studies, and
diverse research programs. The main campus is located in Logan, a
community of 100,000 people. Logan is 85 miles north of Salt Lake City
in scenic Cache Valley, a semi-rural mountain basin with nearby ski
resorts, lakes, rivers, and mountains providing many recreational
opportunities. The area has a low cost of living and provides a high
quality of life. For more information on Logan see
http://www.tourcachevalley.com. Initial funding for tuition and salary
has been secured. However, candidates are strongly encouraged to apply
for external fellowships through the NSF and other sources, and internal
fellowships at Utah State
(http://rgs.usu.edu/graduateschool/htm/finances/fellowships, and
http://rgs.usu.edu/graduateschool/finances/funding-available-to-
graduate-students). Candidates will be provided extensive support with
the application process. Starting salaries are $20,000 for a PhD. Please
contact Trisha Atwood (trisha.atw...@usu.edu, 435 797 5729) for more
information or to submit application materials (CV, cover letter, any
publications, details of research interests, official/unofficial GRE
scores and transcripts, and names of three people willing to provide a
letter of reference). Initial review of applications will begin Nov 30th
2015. Lab website http://trishaatwood.weebly.com/
