[ECOLOG-L] Field Botany: Plants of New England, Summer 2019
Hello Ecologers! Check out this awesome opportunity for learning field botany in Acadia National Park--simply one of the most beautiful places in the North America. Nishi is also one of the best and most passionate field botany teachers I've ever know. Details are below. Sign up soon, it will probably fill up quickly. *Field Botany: Plants of New England* *(Field Botany in and around Acadia National Park_July 28-Aug 10 2019)* Under the expert guidance of Associate Professor of Plant Biology at California Polytechnic State University, Nishanta (“Nishi”) Rajakaruna <https://nishantarajakaruna.com/>, participating students will cover all aspects of general botany by examining native, introduced, invasive, and cultivated plants found in the diverse habitats of Acadia National Park and vicinity, botanical gardens and other sites of noteworthy cultivated plants in the Mount Desert Island area. Finding inspiration through Nishi’s love of plants and his intimate knowledge of the local area gained first as an undergraduate at COA and then as a COA faculty member, students will gain exceptional field-based experience focusing on the taxonomic diversity, ecology, and human uses of common plants of New England, with the aim of enhancing your understanding of and appreciation for the plant world. Read more here: https://www.coa.edu/summerprograms/adult-workshops/field-botany/ Best, Luka -- -- Luka Negoita, Ph.D. Ecology and data science www.lukanegoita.com <http://www.lukanegoita.weebly.com/> www.linkedin.com/in/negoita
[ECOLOG-L] I analyze ecological data.
Hello fellow ecologers! I am dedicated to sharing my skills and passion as an ecological data analyst, consultant, and coach. I’m sure many of you have datasets tucked away and untouched because you simply don’t have the time to analyze them. Or maybe you just need some quick publication-quality figures? I would love to help you out. I also enjoy teaching and working with students on research design and data analysis as a mentor and coach. I think designing a good experiment or study requires a better understanding of data than many new graduate students come in with. If you are interested or have questions about how I can help or what I do, here is a link to my website with information about me and my services. <https://www.lukanegoita.com/data-services.html> If you don't mind doing so, please forward my email to your department or anyone you think I could help. Anyone can reach me here or at lukanego...@gmail.com. Thank you in advance! Best wishes, Luka -- Luka Negoita, Ph.D. Ecology and data science www.lukanegoita.com <http://www.lukanegoita.weebly.com/> www.linkedin.com/in/negoita *I believe the fundamental beauty of the natural world lies in the stories behind the patterns we see.*
[ECOLOG-L] Paid Fieldwork Position to survey plants on lake islands in Georgia.
*Paid field assistant position for 6 weeks this late summer (August 1st to September 12th).* As part of my dissertation, I am conducting surveys of plant communities and associated measures of ecosystem function on 20 islands in Clarks Hill Lake, a reservoir on the border of Georgia and South Carolina. The fieldwork in August and September would consist of visiting islands, conducting basic vegetation surveys, and collecting leaf functional traits and soil samples. The trip will consist of the entire month of August + one or two weeks into September (weather dependent). I will be driving from Syracuse New York, down to Georgia, so preference will be given to those that can meet me somewhere along the way. *All food, lodging (car/tent camping on lake shore), and transport (after we meet) will be covered (+ up to $3,000 stipend for 6 weeks).* *Required Skills:* - Fit, healthy, and able to help me unload and reload the boat on my truck (50lbs each). - Good, friendly personality, and able to cheerfully endure harsh field conditions (heat, rain, thorns, long days, mosquitos, slippery rocks, etc.) - Comfortable with boat travel - Experience tent camping/spending time outdoors - Able to follow directions carefully and willing to take on certain responsibilities - Experience identifying plants with dichotomous keys. Knowledge of the Southern Piedmont forest flora is a huge plus, but not required. - Some prior experience with fieldwork, though the trip itself will be a great opportunity for students seeking more experience doing ecology. My goal is to make this trip into as much of a learning experience as possible for any assistant that joins me, including the potential for creating an independent research project. *Dates: *August 1st through September 12th (with possibility of ending earlier). *Stipend: *$500 per week of work (total = $2,000 to $3,000 depending on how soon we finish). *Please email me (lnego...@syr.edu ) your CV, a cover letter, and contacts for at least two references as soon as possible. Position will be filled on a rolling basis. Email me with any questions.* All the best, Luka Negoita --- Plant Ecology -- Fridley Lab <http://plantecology.syr.edu/fridley/>, Syracuse University <http://www.syr.edu/> www.lukanegoita.weebly.com College of the Atlantic '11 Putney School '07
[ECOLOG-L] Reduce stress and beta test an app for grad students
Dear Ecologers, I am a fellow plant ecology PhD student, and I wanted to reach out to ECOLOG about a project I've been working on. Over the last few years I’ve been developing a system to help me form healthy habits and deal with the stress of grad school. We all know how stressful grad school can be (see this article by the Thesis Whisperer <https://thesiswhisperer.com/2012/05/08/the-valley-of-shit/>), so if you are interested in learning more, then keep on reading! The system has worked really well for me, and now I want to share it with others through an app called HabitU <http://habituapp.com>. If you are interested in reducing stress and finding a way to finally form the habits you wish you had, then this app is for you. HabitU works by combining machine learning with behavioral psychology and a simple habit tracking system to quantify and motivate users in personalized ways. It basically gamifies personal growth. We launched an alpha version of the app in December and received a lot of great feedback (you may have seen another email from me last year), but now we are ready to bring on testers for the new and improved beta version. We would love feedback from the perspective of other grad students! *If you are interested in becoming a beta tester, click on the following link to sign up: http://www.habituapp.com/beta_ap <http://www.habituapp.com/beta_ap> * *For more info about HabitU, here is a link to our landing page: HabitUapp.com <http://HabitUapp.com> and click here and follow us on Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/habituapp>.* Thanks in advance! Luka Negoita - President -- Biology Graduate Student Organization Plant Ecology -- Fridley Lab <http://plantecology.syr.edu/fridley/>, Syracuse University <http://www.syr.edu/> www.lukanegoita.weebly.com College of the Atlantic '11 Putney School '07
[ECOLOG-L] An app for grad students
Dear Ecologers, I am a fellow plant ecology PhD student, and I wanted to reach out to ECOLOG about a recent project I've been working on. The scope of my project is to help grad students overcome the stress of grad school while increasing their wellbeing and overall productivity. If this sounds like you, then read below and check out www.habituapp.com. - I am currently a fourth year PhD student studying plant ecology <http://www.lukanegoita.weebly.com>, and I absolutely love what I do. My research allows me to spend time learning about the topics that interest me most. However, like most other graduate students I know, I've gone through some really challenging times, sometimes hitting rock bottom and feeling more overwhelmed, stressed, and anxious than any other time in my life (see this post by the Thesis Whisperer <https://thesiswhisperer.com/2012/05/08/the-valley-of-shit/>). In fact, grad students have been shown to suffer from greater levels of depression and other mental disorders than the broader public. <http://berkeleysciencereview.com/article/mind-grad-school/> In recent years, PhD dropout rates in the US have been as high as 50%. <http://chronicle.com/article/PhD-Attrition-How-Much-Is/140045/> While some of that may be for good reason, I'm sure that a portion of those students left school because they were never taught how to handle and alleviate the psychological stressors of grad school. Over the last 4 years of my PhD I've been developing a system to help me handle this stress and I was surprised by the simple solution that I found. Thus was born *HabitU <http://www.habituapp.com>.* I began implementing the system about 6 months ago, and the results have been very exciting. I was able to increase my wellbeing, productivity, motivation, and self-confidence in ways I couldn't foresee. The fact that I have the time to work on HabitU speaks for itself. Grad school is one of the most amazing opportunities to learn and make discoveries about the world we live in. There is no reason we shouldn't be able to make it a more enjoyable experience. I want to share my system by building a simple and easy to use mobile app. We are currently in the app development stage, but the more interest there is (i.e., the more of you sign-up <http://www.habituapp.com>), the more funding we can get to complete our first beta release. Please spread the word about HabitU to your colleagues and department to help make this happen. Sign up on www.HabitUapp.com to get the chance to try our beta release. Follow us on Twitter: @HabitUapp <http://habituapp.us13.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f17c268f6087e9228fb41bc0c&id=8b19a2f425&e=a5e9eb5181> Thank you in advance! Luka Negoita PhD student -- Plant Ecology <http://www.lukanegoita.weebly.com> Founder, HabitU HabitUapp.com
[ECOLOG-L] Ecology grad student resources
Anyone ever find something they wish they had read going into grad school? Any particularly useful resources for learning statistics? Work life-balance? Finding grants? I am working on putting together a webpage of annotated resources for graduate students in ecology. The goal is to have it mostly be free online resources, but there could be a book section as well. While many lab or student sites have a page with similar helpful resources, I am yet to find a page that really compiles them all--a sort of *ecology student's toolkit* (but correct me if I am wrong!) Topics include (but are not limited to): - Grant / scholarship sources - Research methods - Statistics / R - Time management - Data sources - Work-life balance - Resources for Taxonomic ID - Natural history blogs / inspiration - Books/recommended readings - Writing - Data collection / smartphone apps. Feel free to send me links to any blogs, blog posts, interactive tutorials, articles, apps, etc. that you have found useful as a grad student in ecology. I would greatly appreciate your help and happily acknowledge you on the website. I will send out a follow-up email when this is complete--hope to have it done by this fall. You can reply to: lnego...@syr.edu so that we don't clog up the list-serve. Thank you! Luka Negoita -- Plant Ecology -- Fridley Lab <http://plantecology.syr.edu/fridley/> Syracuse University <http://www.syr.edu/> www.lukanegoita.weebly.com College of the Atlantic '11 Putney School '07
[ECOLOG-L] Plant Ecology Fieldwork Position
*Paid Plant Ecology Fieldwork position (May through October 2015)* *Position Description* This is a fieldwork assistant position through Syracuse University designed to give the participant experience with ecological fieldwork, plant identification, and the opportunity to help with a two-year study testing the role of plant dispersal on ecosystem function. You will help establish plots, sample plants, functional traits, soils, and seed dispersal in three old-field plant communities across New York State (based out of Syracuse, NY). The majority of fieldwork will include plot establishment and estimating the cover of plant species in plots. Plant identification will be an important component of this fieldwork. *Required Skills* - Fit, healthy, and able to carry and lug at least 50 lbs at a time - Good, friendly personality, and be able to cheerfully endure harsh field conditions (heat, rain, thorns, long days, mosquitos, ticks, etc.) - Able to follow directions carefully and willing to take on certain responsibilities - Be ready to start work no later than May 15th, but preference will be given to applicants that can start as early as May 1st. - Finally, you should be interested in natural history and ecology and be excited about learning. A strong independent passion for the subject may also allow you to pursue an independent research project as part of this fieldwork experience. I enjoy working with students that share my passion and want to make this as much of a learning experience as possible. *Work Schedule and Wage* May through October 2015. Fieldwork will mostly be conducted every other week of this season with a total of 30-40 hours of fieldwork per workweek @ $9-10 per hour based on qualifications. Email me *(**lnego...@syr.edu <http://mc/compose?to=lnego...@syr.edu>)* your CV, a cover letter, and contacts for *two references by May 1st (sooner the better).* Feel free to email me with any questions (lnego...@syr.edu <http://mc/compose?to=lnego...@syr.edu>). Luka Negoita -- Plant Ecology -- Fridley Lab <http://plantecology.syr.edu/fridley/> Syracuse University <http://www.syr.edu/> www.lukanegoita.weebly.com College of the Atlantic '11 Putney School '07
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ecology Fieldwork Internship on Maine Islands
To add some clarification: We will be tent camping for the majority of the summer, with only a few exceptions. We will be moving to different locations along the Maine coast as the summer progresses and the majority of our time will be on islands. All islands are uninhabited, only boat accesible, and will have no running water or electricity. I will have a solar charger for a marine radio and cell phones. Best, Luka On Thu, Apr 11, 2013 at 5:06 PM, Luka Negoita wrote: > *Summer Fieldwork Internship (June through August 2013) > * > > *Position Description > * > This is a fieldwork assistant position designed to give the participant > experience with ecological fieldwork, plant identification, and the > opportunity to explore the ecology and natural history of Maine Islands. > > You will help me sample plants, functional traits, soils, and seed > dispersal on 15 Maine coast islands. Bulk of the fieldwork will include > delineating plots and estimating the percent cover of plant species found > in each plot. Plant identification will be a key component of this > fieldwork. Proficiency (or willingness to gain proficiency) with using > dichotomous keys for identifying vascular plants is essential. But, most > importantly, you should be able to endure rigorous fieldwork conditions, > boat travel, and potentially long, strenuous days. You must also be willing > to follow a flexible schedule that depends mostly on ocean conditions (i.e. > opportunities for safe boat travel). > > I anticipate the experience will provide a vast opportunity to learn about > the natural history of the Maine coast. I will actively encourage the use > of a field journal for recording notes about your experiences and > observations, and will also provide some required readings to expand on > your understanding of some theoretical ecology, especially that pertaining > to this project. The fieldwork will help you learn how to confidently > identify at least 200 Maine plant species in situ, but I expect you to be > interested in learning other aspects of the regional natural history on > your own (birds, insects, plant ecology, etc.). Fieldwork will also teach > you basic field ecology, leaf functional trait sampling, and soil sampling > methods. > > > *Required Skills* > > - Experience with using dichotomous keys for vascular plant identification. > > - Fit, healthy, and able to carry and lug at least 50 lbs at a time > > - Good, friendly personality, and be able to cheerfully endure harsh field > conditions (heat, rain, thorns, long days, mosquitos, slippery rocks, etc.) > > - Comfortable with boat travel > > - Experience tent camping/spending lots of time outdoors > > - Able to follow directions carefully and willing to take on certain > responsibilities > > - Finally, you must be passionate about natural history and ecology, and > be excited to learn whatever you can. This is a rigorous field position and > I will support you to expand on your observation and natural history skills. > > > *Dates* > June through August 2013 (Start and end dates to be determined) > > > *Stipend* > I may be able to supply a stipend for your time, but unfortunately I > cannot promise this. My current plan is to pay $4,000 for the three months. > I am still waiting on grants, so this is not finalized. Think of this as an > unpaid internship with the possibility of a stipend. I will know for sure > before you have to make the decision. Lodging will be covered while we are > on the islands, as well as some basic food staples. > > > *Please email me your CV/resume, a cover letter, and contacts for at > least two references by May 1st (sooner the better).* > > > *Feel free to email me with any questions (lnego...@syr.edu).* > * > *(Note, that is a different email than the one I sent this from...) > > > Best, > Luka Negoita > > -- > Plant Ecology -- Fridley Lab > Syracuse University > www.lukanegoita.weebly.com > College of the Atlantic '11 > Putney School '07 > -- ~ Luka
[ECOLOG-L] Ecology Fieldwork Internship on Maine Islands
*Summer Fieldwork Internship (June through August 2013) * *Position Description * This is a fieldwork assistant position designed to give the participant experience with ecological fieldwork, plant identification, and the opportunity to explore the ecology and natural history of Maine Islands. You will help me sample plants, functional traits, soils, and seed dispersal on 15 Maine coast islands. Bulk of the fieldwork will include delineating plots and estimating the percent cover of plant species found in each plot. Plant identification will be a key component of this fieldwork. Proficiency (or willingness to gain proficiency) with using dichotomous keys for identifying vascular plants is essential. But, most importantly, you should be able to endure rigorous fieldwork conditions, boat travel, and potentially long, strenuous days. You must also be willing to follow a flexible schedule that depends mostly on ocean conditions (i.e. opportunities for safe boat travel). I anticipate the experience will provide a vast opportunity to learn about the natural history of the Maine coast. I will actively encourage the use of a field journal for recording notes about your experiences and observations, and will also provide some required readings to expand on your understanding of some theoretical ecology, especially that pertaining to this project. The fieldwork will help you learn how to confidently identify at least 200 Maine plant species in situ, but I expect you to be interested in learning other aspects of the regional natural history on your own (birds, insects, plant ecology, etc.). Fieldwork will also teach you basic field ecology, leaf functional trait sampling, and soil sampling methods. *Required Skills* - Experience with using dichotomous keys for vascular plant identification. - Fit, healthy, and able to carry and lug at least 50 lbs at a time - Good, friendly personality, and be able to cheerfully endure harsh field conditions (heat, rain, thorns, long days, mosquitos, slippery rocks, etc.) - Comfortable with boat travel - Experience tent camping/spending lots of time outdoors - Able to follow directions carefully and willing to take on certain responsibilities - Finally, you must be passionate about natural history and ecology, and be excited to learn whatever you can. This is a rigorous field position and I will support you to expand on your observation and natural history skills. *Dates* June through August 2013 (Start and end dates to be determined) *Stipend* I may be able to supply a stipend for your time, but unfortunately I cannot promise this. My current plan is to pay $4,000 for the three months. I am still waiting on grants, so this is not finalized. Think of this as an unpaid internship with the possibility of a stipend. I will know for sure before you have to make the decision. Lodging will be covered while we are on the islands, as well as some basic food staples. *Please email me your CV/resume, a cover letter, and contacts for at least two references by May 1st (sooner the better).* *Feel free to email me with any questions (lnego...@syr.edu).* * *(Note, that is a different email than the one I sent this from...) Best, Luka Negoita -- Plant Ecology -- Fridley Lab Syracuse University www.lukanegoita.weebly.com College of the Atlantic '11 Putney School '07
