We are looking for an MS or PhD student well versed in data analysis and environmental science to analyze long-term data concerning the bison herd at Konza Prairie. The successful applicant would have substantial latitude to address many questions. Possible research topics include: 1) How does reintroducing native megafauna (“rewilding”) affect biodiversity, rare species, and resilience of ecosystems? 2) How sensitive are reintroduced megafauna to the types of climate extremes that have caused population changes in the past, and will affect populations more in the future? 3) How do other forms of management, such as prescribed burning, wildfire, and grazing, interact with climate extremes to affect bison performance?
You would be co-advised Zak Ratajczak and Allison Louthan, at Kansas State University and Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS). Ratajczak is a community and landscape ecologist, with a background in biodiversity maintenance, resilience theory, time series analysis, and remote sensing. Louthan is a population ecologist who focuses on climate and species interaction effects on population dynamics, with experience working in systems in North America and Africa. We have a wealth of long-term and geospatial data to answer these questions. The successful applicant will either show a strong proficiency in program R, or previous coding experience that would indicate the ability to learn such skills quickly. We ask the applicant to focus on some combination of long-term or remote-sensed data centered around KPBS. KPBS is a premier, NSF-funded research site that has been working to quantify the interactions between bison reintroduction, regenerative cattle grazing, and climate for prairie form and function since 1982. As of European colonization, plains bison (Bison bison) were the most abundant and widespread megafauna in North America and likely had a large impact on Great Plains Ecosystems. KPBS has one of the longest-running records of bison performance after reintroduction, including individual weight gain, matrilineage, and calving rate. The applicant would have access to a wealth of other data, including a network of over 600 permanent plots and high resolution aerial observations, including LiDAR and hyperspectral data gathered from low-flying planes. We have workflows for data cleaning, data carpentry, time series analysis, and machine learning available to knit together these disparate data sources. What we need is a motivated student, with a keen interest in some combination of conservation, ecosystem services, population biology, or community ecology. We also seek an applicant with some fluency with coding in program R. If you have such qualifications, please make sure to highlight them in your application and do not hesitate to be specific. There is some opportunity for an added field component, but we are primarily looking for a student interested in data-analysis. For your career this will have a large benefit, because you would likely turn out many papers quickly. We expect you could leave this position with qualifications to work in a variety of fields, including academia, state/federal government, private industry data analysis, or an NGO. The position is housed in Manhattan KS. Despite its reputation as flyover country, Manhattan KS has unexpected advantages in terms of quality of life: -The cost of living is low, and our stipends are fairly competitive, allowing most graduate students to live a middle class life while obtaining their graduate degree. -Manhattan is the combination of living in a combination of a small city and college town. There are two “downtowns,” one with college town aesthetic and another with an urban aesthetic. This means access to many of the cultural amenities of a small to medium size city, such as restaurants and museums. -One advantage that Manhattan KS has over more urbanized areas is convenience—with a little bit of planning, you can live within walking or biking distance of your place of work, restaurants, grocery store, museums, and an athletics center. There are multiple hiking trails withing 15 minute driving distance of the center of town. Both potential advisors are keen to help you find a place to live that maximizes your access to amenities while creating one of the most minimal commute times you are likely to find anywhere. We also have a modern, convenient (15 min drive), and affordable airport (~$450 for most flights). To apply, please see instructions here: https://www.k-state.edu/biology/academics/graduate-programs/admission.html We recommend you send a “soft inquiry” ahead of time, to zar...@ksu.edu<mailto:zar...@ksu.edu> and amlout...@ksu.edu<mailto:amlout...@ksu.edu>. Please include two to three paragraphs expressing your interest and a standard CV or resume. We are excited to hear from you and work with you! To unsubscribe from this list please go to https://community.esa.org/confirm/?u=RhPWqPxFwODKvbkiT32nkIqRrsiSgulp
