PhD student recruitment Mazer lab Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology UCSB The Mazer lab in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara is recruiting one or two highly motivated PhD students (for entry into our graduate program in Fall 2018) to conduct both collaborative and independent research to investigate the process and outcome of adaptive evolution within and among populations of the annual forb, Nemophila menziesii (Baby Blue Eyes, Boraginaceae).
Successful candidates will participate in a recently funded NSF grant (“Evolutionary adaptation to intensifying drought across a geographic gradient: a comprehensive evaluation of Fisher's Fundamental Theorem”, with Dr. Amber Nashoba and Dr. Ruth Shaw) in which we are using quantitative genetic methods to test predictions derived from Fisher’s Fundamental Theorem in wild populations of N. menziesii distributed across an aridity gradient in California. Incoming students will also be expected to develop and to conduct independent research that extends beyond the scope of the research supported by this grant. Promising areas of research include (but are not restricted to): (a) the ecological and evolutionary significance of variation within and among populations in prospective fitness-related traits such as germination responses, flowering time, flower size, herkogamy and dichogamy, pollen performance, seed size, and sex allocation; (b) pre- and post-pollination sexual selection on primary and secondary sexual traits; (c) the functional significance of variation in floral and vegetative pigments, including UV reflectance/absorption; (d) the evolution of phenotypic plasticity in life history and morphological traits; and (e) the causes and consequences of variation in water use efficiency across an aridity gradient. Funding packages offered to highly competitive candidates will include a combination of Graduate Research assistantships, Teaching Assistantships, Block Grants, and UCSB-funded graduate fellowships. Students who have already earned a Master’s degree in Botany, Evolution, or Plant Ecology, or who have applied for a NSF Graduate Fellowship, would be particularly strong candidates. UCSB and EEMB encourage and welcome applicants who contribute to the diversity of the campus' community. Prospective students interested in exploring this opportunity may write directly to Professor Susan Mazer (ma...@lifesci.ucsb.edu <mailto:ma...@lifesci.ucsb.edu>) Graduate students may apply electronically to UCSB’s Graduate Division via the following URL: https://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/eapp/Login.aspx <https://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/eapp/Login.aspx> For more information about UCSB's Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, please explore: https://www.eemb.ucsb.edu/ <https://www.eemb.ucsb.edu/> Susan Mazer Director, California Phenology Project President, California Botanical Society Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 93106 office: 805-893-8011 FAX: 805-893-2266 email: ma...@lifesci.ucsb.edu <mailto:ma...@lifesci.ucsb.edu> https://www.eemb.ucsb.edu/people/faculty/mazer <https://www.eemb.ucsb.edu/people/faculty/mazer>
