Ph.D. Student Position in Deep-Sea Community Ecology
The Cordes lab at Temple University is looking for a new Ph.D. student
to
examine the community ecology of cold-seep communities along the Pacific
margin of Costa Rica. This is part of a new, collaborative, NSF-funded
project to examine the physical, chemical, and biological linkages between
seeps and the wider deep-sea ecosystem. Specifically, the Cordes lab is
responsible for the analysis of quantitative collections of the tubeworm and
mussel associated communities at the seeps and their analysis within the
geographic and chemical framework developed by our collaborators. This work
will involve training in community ecology, multivariate statistics, genetic
and morphological taxonomy, and GIS. The student will participate in field
work and develop their own ideas for their dissertation work within the
larger collaborative effort. There are also additional opportunities to
expand this research to other ecosystems. The abstract of the award can be
found here:
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1635219&HistoricalAwards=false
The Cordes lab is focused on the ecology of deep-sea habitats including
deep-sea corals, cold seeps, and hydrothermal vents. We are interested in
how organisms shape their environment by creating habitat heterogeneity and
altering biogeochemical cycles on the seafloor. These interests touch on
ecosystem level processes, patterns of community assembly, population
dynamics, individual habitat preference, physiological responses to changing
environments, and the genetic regulation of metabolic processes. We are also
interested in the conservation of deep water habitats, and the lab has been
actively investigating the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on
deepwater coral communities, as well as monitoring ongoing ocean
acidification in the deep Gulf of Mexico. Integrating research across these
disciplines has led to the development of a wide variety of capabilities in
the lab as well as a large network of national and international
collaborators. Current projects in the lab include investigations of the
deep-sea corals and seeps of the Gulf of Mexico, exploration of the
seamounts of the Phoenix Islands, and the project described above. More
information about the Cordes lab can be found here:
http://astro.temple.edu/~ecordes/index.html
Potential PhD students should send their CV, transcripts, GRE scores,
and a
brief statement of research interests related to this project to
ecor...@temple.edu. Formal applications to the Temple University Biology
Department should be complete by January 1 to qualify for internal
Fellowships. More information on the Department and the Graduate Program can
be found here:
https://bio.cst.temple.edu/
