PhD Student in Mammal Ecology

Agency

NC State University

Location

Raleigh, NC, USA

Job Category

Graduate Assistantships

Salary

Salary is $25K/year (+ insurance and tuition) with anual 3% raises. Fully funded for 4 years.

Last Date to Apply

12/05/2022

Website

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XhCqJ0gEgjKgGoK_4dJOndlesd_yJgXQsnEMtd0zkQs/edit

Description

This project is studying how forests are responding to climate change and what impacts this will have on mammals. This student will work with the NSF funded project “Anticipating continent-wide forest recruitment change: the interactions between climate, habitat, and consumers”. This position will focus on quantifying mammal populations across North America and relating them to data on mast production and forest ecology produced by collaborators at Duke Univ, Univ Michigan, UC Merced, and UC Berkeley.

The PhD research will involve population modeling for mammals using data from camera traps and small mammal trapping grids. The exact research questions and modeling techniques will be developed as part of the dissertation. The student will be responsible for collecting new camera trap data across North America through a combination of their own field work and helping to coordinate and expand the Snapshot USA monitoring program. The small mammal data will come from the existing NEON project and will not require additional field work.
The student will be enrolled in the Fisheries Wildlife and Conservation Biology program at NCSU and also have opportunities to take classes and draw committee members from across the university including the Center for Geospatial Analytics, Department of Applied Ecology, and Statistics Department. The student will have an office in the Biodiversity lab at the NC Museum of Natural sciences and have opportunities to develop their science communication skills through museum programs. There will also be opportunities for regular interactions with our collaborators in the Jim Clark lab group at nearby Duke University.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications
A MS degree in related fields or a BS with substantial research experience.
Good quantitative skills including experience with R.
Basic knowledge of North American Mammals.
Strong organizational and communication skills.

Other Desired Qualifications
Experience setting camera traps in the field and using the data
Background with small mammal trapping data and/or mark recapture analyses
Proven field worker and traveler
Proficient in GIS or other spatial methods
Passion for science communication

Contact Person

Roland Kays

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