*PhD Assistantship in Agricultural Sustainability and Ecosystem Service, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida *
The Qiu Lab at the University of Florida is seeking a prospective PhD student with strong motivation and enthusiasm about graduate research to study agricultural sustainability and ecosystem services at the landscape scales. The student will integrate biophysical modeling, field observation, landscape analysis and data synthesis to understand consequences of global drivers of change (e.g., climate change, urban development, land management) and their interactions for ecosystem services and human wellbeing in agriculture-dominated landscapes, explore pathways of building social-ecological resilience, and examine tradeoffs and synergies among biodiversity, multiple ecosystem services and social outcomes. The student will be primarily working with Dr. Jiangxiao Qiu on these research directions, but is welcome to develop other novel projects. There will also be opportunities to collaborate with other researchers and scientists working at the same geographic sites. Research in the Qiu Lab of “Landscape Ecology and Sustainability Science” ( http://jiangxiaoqiu.weebly.com/) broadly falls into landscape ecology, ecosystem service, global change ecology, conservation biology, and sustainability science. Research from the lab is highly interdisciplinary and uses approaches combining biophysical modeling, landscape analysis, remote sensing, field observation and experiment, data synthesis, and social sciences. The overarching goal is to understand and predict how global environmental changes alter ecosystems and biodiversity across a range of spatial and temporal scales, and their consequences for ecosystem services. Current research in the lab encompasses: (1) climate and land-use change effects on ecosystem services; (2) sustainable and ecological intensification of agriculture; (3) climate extremes, coastal resilience, and costal ecosystem services; (4) biological invasions and biodiversity effects on ecosystem services; (6) functional role of ecosystem services in supporting human well-being. The Qiu Lab is in the School of Forest Resources and Conservation, and based at Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Candidates with interest and/or experience in ecosystem service, sustainability science, agroecology, landscape ecology, conservation are encouraged to apply. Preference will be given to applicants with ecological research experience, strong writing and quantitative (e.g., statistics, geospatial analysis) skills, experience with modeling and field work, and familiarity with agricultural systems especially rangelands. Interested students are encouraged to contact Jiangxiao Qiu (q...@ufl.edu) in advance by sending a current CV with GPA, GRE and TOEFL (for non-native English speaker only), a list of three academic references who are willing to write letters of recommendation on your behalf, and a brief statement describing your research interests and experience as a single PDF. Anticipated starting date will be *Spring or Fall Semester 2018*. Applicants are encouraged to submit their application materials as soon as possible to ensure full consideration. The successful candidate will be offered a competitive stipend, a tuition waiver, and a travel budget for attending conferences. For more information, please visit website (http://jiangxiaoqiu.weebly.com) and departmental webpage (http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/). Please feel free to email Jiangxiao if there are questions about the opportunities and applications. I look forward to hearing from you! **Jiangxiao Qiu will be at the ESA meeting in Portland, OR from 7-11 August, 2017, and would be happy to talk to potential applicants. Interested individuals can set up a time to meet or talk with him during the conference. Best wishes, Jiangxiao ************************************************************** Dr. Jiangxiao Qiu Assistant Professor of Landscape Ecology School of Forest Resources & Conservation Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center/IFAS University of Florida Email: q...@ufl.edu Phone: (954) 577-6337 3205 College Ave, Davie, FL 33314 Website: http://jiangxiaoqiu.weebly.com/
