Postdoc and field technician positions in ecology of invasive species in the arid SW
We have four years of funding for two postdocs and one technician to work on a collaborative project between Iowa State University and Rutgers University Newark. The research is centered on the study of the spread of invasive species into intershrub areas of the Mojave and Sonora Deserts, examining the role they might play in enhancing fire risk. Our aims are (a) to gain an understanding of the landscape-scale population dynamics of fire promoting and fire retarding plant species; (b) to test the novel hypothesis that once fire becomes important, naturally formed islands of fertility will break down and a negative feedback will enhance fire even further; (c) to apply the results through the development of spatially explicit simulation models, which will be used in exploring management practices designed to help restore the original environmental pattern of islands of fertility in a low-nutrient matrix and therefore prevent future wildfires; and (d) to understand the effects of non-native plant species on fire regimes and their interdependence with future climate scenarios as predicted by current General Circulation Models. One postdoc will be hired at Iowa State University to take the lead in developing landscape scale models of the dynamic spread of invasive species and will subsequently apply the models in the research program described above. Required skills are knowledge of ecological theory and statistical analysis and the ability to model in C++ or similar programming language. Experience with GIS and spatial analysis are also desired. The successful candidate must be willing to assist with field work. Anticipated start date is April 2010. For further information contact Dr. Kirk A. Moloney (kmolo...@iastate.edu). The second postdoc will be working at Rutgers Newark and will head the field experimental effort at two desert sites (Arizona and California). Experience in experimental plant ecology under field conditions is required. A background in desert ecology and population ecology is a plus. The successful candidate will be part of team working in a remote desert setting. Anticipated start date is April 2010. For further information contact Dr. Claus Holzapfel (holza...@andromeda.rutgers.edu). Field technician: In addition to the two postdocs, we will hire a full time field technician to participate in the above described project. This technician will be based in and employed at Rutgers Newark and will participate for approximately 3 months a year in the field work campaigns at the desert sites (Arizona & California). For further information contact Dr. Claus Holzapfel (holza...@andromeda.rutgers.edu). Qualified applicants should send, via e-mail, a curriculum vitae and a statement of research interests (for postdocs) and names and contact of three references.
