The Vonesh lab in the Center for Environmental Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University invites applications from prospective graduate students for Fall 2019 to collaborate on our NSF-funded project on rock pool food webs.
https://vcu.exposure.co/natural-wonders Changes in predator diversity via extinction and invasion are increasingly widespread, often with dramatic ecological and socio- economic consequences. Despite important advances, obstacles remain that limit our ability to predict and manage these consequences. This research focuses on river rock pool communities as a tractable model system and integrates natural history, ecological theory, field surveys, experiments, and new statistical tools to overcome these obstacles and advance our understanding of the relationship between predator biodiversity, prey populations, and ecosystem function and services. This project is a joint effort between myself (James Vonesh), Mike McCoy (http://mikemccoylab.weebly.com/), Jeremy Wojdak (http://www.radford.edu/~jmwojdak/) and Ben Bolker (http://ms.mcmaster.ca/~bolker/). We also collaborate closely with Kristine Grayson (https://biology.richmond.edu/research/research- labs/grayson-lab.html), Todd Lookingbill (https://geography.richmond.edu/), Jelena Pantel (http://jhpantel.com/), and Brian Byrd (https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-byrd-54a47a116/). Work will focus on river rock pools in Richmond, VA, and throughout the Southeastern USA (bird’s eye view - https://youtu.be/sOivJV_c4xY). The juxtaposition of the James River rock pools, Virginia Commonwealth University and metro-Richmond schools provide an exceptional opportunity to integrate research and public education(https://youtu.be/dSnMsCHLNvA). Students and teachers from area high schools will collaborate with investigators on aspects of the research and in developing and broadly disseminating innovative educational resources (e.g., http://jamesriverpark.org/science-in-the-park/rock-pools.php). Graduate students will develop independent research projects that fit within the larger framework of the grant. There is an opportunity to work on the project and get rolling prior to the fall semester (e.g., spring/summer technician employment). For more thoughts on my mentoring approach see https://wp.vcu.edu/voneshlab/join-us/. Prospective students with a Bachelor’s degree are encouraged to apply through the Center for Environmental Studies Masters in Science program (http://bulletin.vcu.edu/graduate/vcu-life-sciences/center-environmental- studies/environmental-studies-ms/), those with a Master’s degree should consider the VCU Integrative Life Sciences Ph.D. program (http://lifesciences.vcu.edu/academic-programs/phd-in-integrative-life- sciences/). Competitive stipends, tuition waivers, and support for field work are available. Interested persons should initially email a letter that summarizes their background, educational goals, and research interests, along with curriculum vitae with contact information for three references to James Vonesh (jrvoneshvcu.edu). Virginia Commonwealth University, located in Richmond, VA, is a large public R1 university and has an active and diverse faculty in ecology and related fields engaged in research around the world. Richmond is an exciting place to live and work (http://www.vcu.edu/about/richmond.html), voted Outside Magazine’s “Best River Town in America” (https://www.outsideonline.com/1929066/best-river-towns-america), the third most tattooed city in America, according to the Today Show, and perhaps simply the “Best City in America” (http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/virginia/best-city-in-virginia/). It certainly has some of the best urban whitewater in the East (https://vimeo.com/139535805), if you care about such things.
