[ECOLOG-L] PhD Assistantship

[Ashley Helton]

The Helton Lab seeks a PhD student at The University of Connecticut, advised
by Dr. Ashley Helton (ashley.hel...@uconn.edu; www.ashleyhelton.weebly.com).
 The student's project will focus on understanding headwater stream carbon
dynamics and their response to rising temperatures at the stream reach and
river network scales.  The student will work closely with PIs and students
at collaborating universities and will have opportunities to travel to field
sites in North Carolina.  Prior experience in GIS, simulation modeling (or a
strong quantitative background), and stream or landscape ecology preferred.
 The position includes a competitive stipend, tuition, and health insurance.   

To apply, e-mail Dr. Helton a 1 page description of your research interests.
 Please also send your CV (including GPA and GRE scores), a recent
transcript (unofficial is OK), and names and contact information of three
references.

[ECOLOG-L] searching for goldilocks?

[USU Forestry Extension]

*Title:* Searching for Goldilocks: Balancing Forest Ecosystem Restoration
and Old-forest Species Conservation in the Sierra Nevada, CA
*Date:* Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017
*Time:* 12 pm MST
*Speaker:* Gavin M. Jones, PhD Student, University of Wisconsin-Madison,
Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology
Check out Gavin on Twitter https://twitter.com/EcologyOfGavin or visit his
page at the Peery Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Lab to learn more.


Concern over the social, economic, and ecological consequences of
increasingly frequent "megafires" in California's Sierra Nevada have led
some to propose large-scale forest restoration to increase ecosystem
resilience. However, restoration efforts (e.g., forest thinning) may have
collateral impacts on declining old-forest species. Is it possible to find
balance between these two seemingly competing objectives? In this hour, I
explore this question using the California spotted owl as a model
old-forest species, and share new insights from ongoing research as part of
my PhD dissertation.

*Register for the webinar here.*


* Zoom will send you a reminder email the day before, and 1 hour before the
scheduled webinar. They will also convert the webinar to your local
timezone. *


* CEUs (ISA or SAF) are available for those that participate in the
webinar. Archived webinars can be viewed on our website,
here. https://forestry.usu.edu/htm/video/webinars/
*

[ECOLOG-L] Amazonian Peru Research Internships Now Available

[Chris Kirkby]

Dear Ecologers

Fauna Forever, a non-profit organization leading projects in the rainforests 
of the Peruvian Amazon since 1997, is looking for field research interns to 
assist its international team of conservation biologists, botanists, science 
photographers, geographers, and educators with numerous field research 
projects (biodiversity, ecosystem services, climate change), natural resource 
management planning, native community development, green business development, 
and global outreach initiatives. 

At present we are particularly keen on identifying interns (students or recent 
graduates) who would like to assist us with Neotropical herpetology (amphibian 
and reptile), ornithology, botany, science photography, and community-based 
natural resource management projects for periods of between one to three 
months, starting any time after 1st March 2017. In addition, for those 
students looking to undertake an independent research project, perhaps as part 
of their thesis or dissertation requirements, we have identified a series of 
studies the results of which would contribute to our work (please find the 
list of studies below). Expert training in field study methods and post-
doctoral-level supervision of projects is provided by our team.

Note: Due to the limited nature of our central funds, successful intern 
applicants will need to cover their in-country costs associated with food, 
accommodation, local transport, training and supervision, wifi access, 
equipment use, etc. in Puerto Maldonado (our base-camp city) and at field 
sites. A 6-week stay for instance would cost around US$3,000 (US$71 per day). 
We strongly encourage data collected by student interns to be published in 
peer-reviewed journals. All field assistants are also acknowledged in our own 
publications. A knowledge of Spanish is not required, as all of our staff 
speak English. Energy, enthusiasm, attention to detail, and working well as 
part of a diverse, international team, is a must!

DISSERTATION-TYPE RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
Mammals
• To what extent does primate group size and home-range size vary with forest 
type and fruit resource composition and availability in Amazonian Peru?
• How and why does the relative abundance of rodents (like agoutis, pacas and 
squirrels) vary within and between forest sites in Amazonian Peru, based on 
seed removal experiments?
• How does ecotourism, Brazil nut extraction, timber extraction, and/or bush-
meat hunting by local communities affect the diversity, abundance and activity 
patterns of mammals in Amazonian Peru?
• How habituated to the presence of humans are mammal species at increasing 
distances from ecotourist lodges, research stations, and rural villages in 
Amazonian Peru?
• How does the geophagy (clay-eating) activity patterns in rainforest mammals 
vary from place to place in Amazonian Peru, based on camera-trap methods and 
direct observations?

Birds
• How do the characteristics (species composition, abundance, home-range size) 
of mixed-species bird flocks differ between forest types in Amazonian Peru?
• How does the abundance of oropendola, cacique, macaw, parrot and other 
flocking bird species differ as the distance from human settlements increases 
in Amazonian Peru?
• How does the diversity and abundance of nocturnal raptors (family 
Strigidae), based on transect and call-count station sampling methods, differ 
between sites in Amazonian Peru?
• How does the flower-visitation rate of hummingbirds vary between flowering 
plant and bird species, and between forest types (areas of differing forest 
structure and floristics) in Amazonian Peru?
• How does the species and colony size of army ants (e.g. Eciton sp.) affect 
the community of insectivorous birds that follow army ant swarms? 

Herpetofauna (amphibians and reptiles)
• How does the abundance of Dwarf caiman (Paleosuchus sp.) vary between forest 
streams and main river channels in Amazonian Peru, and what stream/river 
characteristics help explain any difference observed?
• How and why does the mean size and weight of amphibian and reptile species 
differ within and between sites in Amazonian Peru?
• How does forest structure and light gap characteristics affect the 
diversity, abundance and behavior of lizards in Amazonian Peru?
• How does the size and position of temporary ponds made from natural and 
artificial materials affect the amphibian species that use them?
• What is the herpetological conservation value of Brazil-nut midden piles in 
Amazonian Peru?

Invertebrates
• Is there a relationship between dung-beetle biomass and mammal biomass in 
Amazonian Peru?
• How abundant are phoretic mites on dung-beetles in Amazonian Peru, and what 
factors affect this abundance?
• What is the “perfect” bait mixture for attracting the most diverse 
assemblage of butterflies to Van Someron-Rydon-type live traps in Amazonian 
Peru?
• How diverse is the insect community (with an emphasis on a particular Order, 
like beetles) t