Dear colleagues, The Castorani Lab at the University of Virginia is recruiting 3 PhD students to study coastal marine ecology starting in August 2025. Please pass along this advertisement to people in your network that would be interested.
Best, Max Max Castorani Associate Professor Dept. of Environmental Sciences University of Virginia Office: 352 Clark Hall castor...@virginia.edu<mailto:castor...@virginia.edu> https://castorani.evsc.virginia.edu/ Zoom: https://virginia.zoom.us/my/castorani **************************************************** (1) PhD position in seagrass community ecology at University of Virginia / Virginia Coast Reserve LTER Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RhrMq7aXW73WfRdhoDTgd9XuzEVvYEPB/view?usp=share_link The Castorani Lab at the University of Virginia is recruiting a PhD student to study seagrass biodiversity and community ecology at the Virginia Coast Reserve Long Term Ecological Research project (VCR LTER; https://vcrlter.virginia.edu/). The Virginia Coast Reserve is a temperate coastal lagoon with a 20-year legacy of seagrass restoration led by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and studied by researchers at UVA and beyond (https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/virginia/stories-in-virginia/vcr-marine-restoration/). The interdisciplinary VCR LTER research program has been supported by the National Science Foundation for >40 years to study the long-term dynamics of this coastal barrier-island landscape. The student will use field studies and long-term data from VCR LTER to study the processes structuring assemblages of fishes and invertebrates across the world’s largest restored seagrass meadow. Research in the Castorani Lab focuses on three major themes: community ecology and biodiversity; disturbance ecology and restoration; and spatial connectivity and synchrony. The student will be advised by professor Max Castorani (https://castorani.evsc.virginia.edu/) and join UVA's Department of Environmental Sciences (https://evsc.as.virginia.edu/). The student will have the opportunity to interact with a large community of VCR LTER scientists, TNC restoration practitioners and educators, and the broader LTER Network (https://lternet.edu). The student will join the UVA Graduate Program in Environmental Sciences (https://evsc.as.virginia.edu/prospective-graduate-students), which offers interdisciplinary training and conducts research in ecology, hydrology, geology, and atmospheric science. Graduate students accepted into the program are typically supported through teaching and research assistantships that provide a competitive stipend, tuition, and health insurance. At the time of enrollment, highly qualified applicants will have an undergraduate or master's degree in biology, ecology, oceanography, fisheries, or a related field. Ideal candidates will have interests in seagrass biodiversity, food webs, or species interactions; experience in field ecology; and demonstrated quantitative skills, such as data analysis or scientific programming (or a motivation to acquire such skills). **************************************************** (2) PhD position in oyster reef ecology at University of Virginia / Virginia Coast Reserve LTER Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Rt_eCmT9qOmQAfHFg_GVVM2lopCSTTnh/view?usp=share_link The Castorani Lab at the University of Virginia is recruiting a PhD student to study the population dynamics of oysters on restored reefs at the Virginia Coast Reserve Long Term Ecological Research project (VCR LTER; https://vcrlter.virginia.edu/). The Virginia Coast Reserve is a temperate coastal lagoon with a 20-year legacy of oyster restoration led by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and studied by researchers at UVA and beyond (https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/virginia/stories-in-virginia/vcr-marine-restoration/). The interdisciplinary VCR LTER research program has been supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for >40 years to study the long-term dynamics of this coastal barrier-island landscape. The student will use field studies and long-term data and models from VCR LTER to study the dispersal and demography of oyster populations, contributing towards the broader goal of informing TNC restoration planning in a changing climate. Research in the Castorani Lab focuses on three major themes: community ecology and biodiversity; disturbance ecology and restoration; and spatial connectivity and synchrony. The student will be advised by professor Max Castorani (https://castorani.evsc.virginia.edu/) and join UVA's Department of Environmental Sciences (https://evsc.as.virginia.edu/). The student will have the opportunity to interact with a large community of VCR LTER scientists, restoration practitioners and educators at TNC, and the broader LTER Network (https://lternet.edu). The student will join the UVA Graduate Program in Environmental Sciences (https://evsc.as.virginia.edu/prospective-graduate-students), which offers interdisciplinary training and conducts research in ecology, hydrology, geology, and atmospheric science. Graduate students accepted into the program are typically supported through teaching and research assistantships that provide a competitive stipend, tuition, and health insurance. At the time of enrollment, highly qualified applicants will have an undergraduate or master's degree in biology, ecology, oceanography, fisheries, or a related field. Ideal candidates will have interests in oyster reef ecology and restoration; experience in field ecology; and demonstrated quantitative skills, such as data analysis or scientific programming (or a motivation to acquire such skills). **************************************************** (3) PhD position in kelp forest community ecology at University of Virginia / Santa Barbara Coastal LTER Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Sj7l1R5bCjlXyc9ifj67ggN4cV9k6Z77/view?usp=share_link The Castorani Lab at the University of Virginia is recruiting a PhD student to study the drivers of kelp forest ecosystem structure and function at the Santa Barbara Coastal Long Term Ecological Research project (SBC LTER; http://sbc.lternet.edu/). The interdisciplinary SBC LTER research program has been supported by the National Science Foundation for 25 years to study the long-term dynamics of kelp forest ecosystems. The student will use data from SBC LTER and other ecological research programs to study the processes maintaining biodiversity and stability in kelp communities from local to regional scales (this position does not include support for field work). Research in the Castorani Lab focuses on three major themes: community ecology and biodiversity; disturbance ecology and restoration; and spatial connectivity and synchrony. The student will be advised by professor Max Castorani (https://castorani.evsc.virginia.edu/) and join UVA's Department of Environmental Sciences (https://evsc.as.virginia.edu/). The student will have the opportunity to interact with a large community of SBC LTER scientists, and be a part of the broader LTER Network (https://lternet.edu). The student will join the UVA Graduate Program in Environmental Sciences (https://evsc.as.virginia.edu/prospective-graduate-students), which offers interdisciplinary training and conducts research in ecology, hydrology, geology, and atmospheric science. Graduate students accepted into the program are typically supported through teaching and research assistantships that provide a competitive stipend, tuition, and health insurance. At the time of enrollment, highly-qualified applicants will have an undergraduate or master's degree in biology, ecology, oceanography, statistics, computer science, mathematics, or a related field. Ideal candidates will have interests in kelp forest ecology at the scale of populations, communities, ecosystems, or landscapes, and demonstrated quantitative skills, such as data analysis, ecological modeling, or scientific programming (or motivation to acquire such skills). **************************************************** TO APPLY: Those interested should send the following items, as a single PDF, to Dr. Max Castorani (castor...@virginia.edu): (1) a brief description of their background, career goals, motivations for pursuing a PhD, research ideas, and why they are specifically interested in joining the Castorani Lab; (2) a CV with academic and professional experience (including GPA); (3) contact information for 3 references; and (4) a writing sample, if available. The application deadline is January 15, 2025, for enrollment in Fall 2025. However, serious applicants should express their interest by email as soon as possible. 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