Ph. D. Assistantships (2): Managing Agricultural Conservation Lands for
BioFuels, Forage, and Reducing Aviation Risk
Location: Mississippi State, Mississippi
Responsibilities:
Successful applicants will evaluate bird and mammal responses to
management on conservation grasslands (native grass mixtures and
switchgrass monocultures) in agricultural landscapes in northeast
Mississippi. This research program has two parallel foci. The first is
to assess wildlife use of conservation grasslands that could be
established in and around airports for the development of
wildlife-aviation risk models to inform policy decisions about landscape
approaches to reduce wildlife-aviation hazards. The second is to assess
the effects of biannual forage harvests (summer) and annual biofuel
harvests (single fall harvest) on wildlife to inform policy decisions
about optimal management and use of Conservation Reserve Program lands
and other conservation programs.
Successful applicants will have primary responsibility for the mammalian
or avian component of research. Students will be responsible for
conducting field work (e.g., bird counts, small mammal trapping, and
vegetation sampling), supervising field technicians, analyzing data, and
preparing technical reports and peer-reviewed publications. The students
also will serve as teaching assistants for ornithology, mammalogy, or
human-wildlife conflicts courses.
This is a multi-disciplinary project and collaborative effort between
scientists from the USDA/WS/National Wildlife Research Center and
faculty from Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture at Mississippi State
University. Successful applicants will have the opportunity to
collaborate on studies involving aviation risk assessment, pollinators,
predators, forage quality, plant diversity, carbon sequestration and
biofuel potential.
Qualifications:
Passion for integrating wildlife objectives into productive agricultural
systems. M.S. in wildlife ecology, wildlife management, biology or
related field. Experience with birds or mammals is strongly desired,
especially counting and monitoring techniques. Students must be able to
work as part of an integrated team and be willing to work cooperatively
with other students on related projects.
Salary: $20,000 per annum plus complete waiver of tuition
Starting Date: July 2010 desired.
Closing Date: Until positions are filled, review of applications will
begin 15 February.
Inquiry emails are welcomed and should be directed to Dr. Jerry Belant
(Co-Project Leader, [email protected], 662-325-2996 ) or Dr. Wes
Burger (Co-Project Leader, [email protected]).
Application: Submit: 1) transcript(s) and GRE scores (unofficial copies
fine initially), 2) vita, 3) contact information for 3 references, and
4) letter of application which (a) describes your interest in the
position, (b) describes your career goals, and (c) details your work or
educational experience that is most relevant to this position.
--
Sam Riffell, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Wildlife& Fisheries
Box 9690
Mississippi State University
Mississippi State, MS 39762
Phone: (662) 325-0392
FAX: (662) 325-8726
Email: [email protected]
Physical Address for overnight shipment:
Rm 213a Thompson Hall
775 Stone Blvd.
Mississippi State, MS 39762
