Graduate Research Opportunity in Community Ecology
Department of Biology - Sonoma State University
A graduate student at the M.S. level is sought to join Dr. Hall
Cushman's lab in the Department of Biology at Sonoma State University
in northern California, approximately 50 miles north of San
Francisco. The successful applicant will participate in a long-term
ecological study designed to evaluate the impacts of mammalian
herbivores (black-tailed deer and jackrabbits) on the composition of
plant communities in a coastal dune ecosystem. This study involves a
factorial herbivore-exclosure experiment that was established in 1995
along a soil-texture gradient in a dune system adjacent to the Bodega
Marine Laboratory and Reserve in Sonoma County. Although this
experiment has been used to address a diversity of issues, a main
objective currently is to evaluate the impacts of native herbivores
on the relative dominance of native versus exotic plants in the
community, and to understand if and how these effects vary along a
soil-mediated stress gradient. The successful applicant will be
expected to contribute to this effort as well as develop another
project of their own choosing that uses the existing exclosure
experiment.
To date, the following journal articles have been published on this system:
Huntzinger, M., R. Karban & J. H. Cushman. 2008. Negative effects
of vertebrate herbivores on invertebrates in a coastal dune
community. Ecology 89:1972-1980.
Lortie, C. J., & J. H. Cushman. 2007. Effects of a directional
abiotic gradient on plant community dynamics and invasion in a
coastal dune system. Journal of Ecology 95:468-481.
McNeil, S. G, & J. H. Cushman. 2005. Indirect effects of deer
herbivory on local nitrogen availability in a coastal dune ecosystem.
Oikos 110:124-132.
Warner, P. J., & J. H. Cushman. 2002. Influence of herbivores on a
perennial plant: variation with life history stage and herbivore
species. Oecologia 132:77-85.
Each of these papers can be downloaded at www.sonoma.edu/users/c/cushman/.
Applicants for this graduate position must have a strong background
in ecology, field research and plant identification as well as meet
the admission requirements for the Department of Biology's Graduate
Program (www.sonoma.edu/biology/graduate). Experience in statistical
analysis and data management is also desirable.
The application deadline for the Biology Graduate Program is January
31 for the Fall semester and October 31 for the Spring semester.
Details on the procedures for applying can be found at
www.sonoma.edu/biology/graduate.
Graduate students in the Department of Biology are supported in a
variety of ways, including teaching assistantships and in-state
tuition waivers. Hall Cushman will work closely with the successful
applicant to obtain additional grant funding to support this project.
For more information about this opportunity, contact Hall Cushman in
the Department of Biology at SSU ([EMAIL PROTECTED]).
____________________________________________________
J. Hall Cushman, Professor
Department of Biology
Sonoma State University
Rohnert Park, CA 94928
707/664-2142 (-2512, lab; -4046, fax)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.sonoma.edu/users/c/cushman
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____________________________________________________
J. Hall Cushman, Professor
Department of Biology
Sonoma State University
Rohnert Park, CA 94928
707/664-2142 (-2512, lab; -4046, fax)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.sonoma.edu/users/c/cushman
