Graduate student positions (M.Sc. or Ph.D.) available: Montreal QC,Canada.
*Understanding the importance of insect and plant microbiomes during spruce budworm outbreaks*
Fully-funded graduate student positions (M.Sc. or Ph.D.) are available for motivated students interested in studying the ecology of microbial communities (microbiomes) associated with spruce budworm and their host trees during the current outbreak that is having major impacts on Quebec forests.
The objectives of the project are to use field surveys and experimental manipulations of spruce budworm and host tree microbiomes, in order to understand the processes responsible for variation in microbial community structure in the budworm gut at multiple scales, and to quantify the effect of gut microbes on budworm growth, survival, and ecological interactions.
Students will be co-supervised by Dr. Steven Kembel (UQAM) and Dr. Patrick James (UdeM), and/or Dr. Daniel Kneeshaw (UQAM). The students will also work closely with a multidisciplinary team carrying out research on spruce budworm outbreak dynamics and forest ecology, including Dr. Louis DeGrandpré, and Dr. Deepa Pureswaran (Canadian Forest Service, NRCan). Students will have the opportunity to develop projects and receive training in diverse areas including field ecology, laboratory and greenhouse experiments, high-throughput environmental sequencing, biostatistics, and bioinformatics for the quantification of microbiome structure.
The ideal candidate will have a strong academic record and an interest in ecology (insect, plant, or microbial) and quantitative methods in community ecology or bioinformatics.
Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the positions have been filled. To apply, please submit a cover letter stating your research interests, CV, unofficial transcripts, and contact information for three references to:
Dr. Steven Kembel (kembel.steve...@uqam.ca) Dr. Patrick James (patrick.ma.ja...@umontreal.ca) Dr. Daniel Kneeshaw (kneeshaw.dan...@uqam.ca)
