The Russo Lab (russolab.unl.edu) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is seeking masters or PhD students interested in conducting research in the following areas of forest ecology.
Nebraska Forest Dynamics and Management – This project involves establishing permanent forest monitoring plots in Nebraskan forests as part of the Smithsonian ForestGEO plot network (www.forestgeo.si.edu) in order to investigate changes in growth, survival, and recruitment rates of trees in response to environmental drivers. Ultimately, this information will be used to describe and forecast changes in forest composition and function to aid in developing adaptive management plans for forest conservation. Functional Traits of Bornean Tree Species – This project involves quantification of leaf, stem, and root functional traits of tree species in Borneo at the Lambir ForestGEO plot (www.ctfs.si.edu/site/Lambir) to predict tree growth and survival using tree physiological models to scale up to forest demographic and community dynamics. These projects involve multi-disciplinary collaborative teams and offer the opportunity to gain skills in areas such as geographic information systems and modeling, in addition to forest ecology, ecophysiology, and demography. Members of the Russo lab work broadly in plant ecology and diversity, linking ecophysiology with demography and species distributions. Potential applicants should email Sabrina Russo (srus...@unl.edu) with the subject line, “Forest Ecology Graduate Position” and with a description of research interests and experience, and a resume summarizing previous coursework and listing any publications. See www.russolab.unl.edu/links and www.biosci.unl.edu/prospective-graduate-students and www.unl.edu/gradstudies/prospective/programs/BiologicalSciences#apply for information on how to apply (deadline December 1, 2017). Sabrina E. Russo Associate Professor School of Biological Sciences University of Nebraska, Lincoln USA 68588-0118 402-472-8387 (ph), 402-472-2083 (fax) www.russolab.unl.edu srus...@unl.edu
