*Florida International University, Miami, Florida* One PhD graduate assistantship is available in the Department of Biological Sciences at Florida International University (FIU) (http://biology.fiu.edu) to conduct research in the Florida Everglades, beginning fall 2016. These positions are affiliated with the Florida Coastal Everglades Long Term Ecological Research program (http://fcelter.fiu.edu/) and will include integrative field and experimental research approaches, and public outreach.
FIU is a public research university in Miami with a highly diverse, vibrant, and growing student body located near the eastern boundary of the Everglades. The Department of Biological Sciences has strengths in Ecology, Marine Biology, Botany, Microbiology, Evolution, and Cellular/Molecular Biology. The FCE LTER student organization ( http://fcelter.fiu.edu/students/), based at FIU, is a very active community of over 70 students from multiple departments and institutions who conduct integrative, multidisciplinary, long-term research. To be eligible for positions, students must meet FIU graduate admission requirements and successfully compete for a teaching assistantship to match existing research assistantship support (http://biology.fiu.edu/graduate). Highly qualified candidates may be eligible for fully funded Presidential Fellowships. The deadline for graduate applications is January 05, 2016, but early submission (December 2015) is highly encouraged. *Sea-Level Rise and Saltwater Intrusion in Coastal Ecosystems:* The candidate’s research interests should include global environmental change, wetlands, coastal ecology, and ecosystem ecology, especially biogeochemistry and organic matter processing. The student will be expected to develop research related to understanding how sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion affect net carbon storage in freshwater and brackish wetlands through altered nutrient subsidies and salinity stresses to soil microbial and wetland plant communities. Interested applicants should contact Dr. John Kominoski ([email protected]) and visit his lab website ( https://kominoskilab.wordpress.com) before applying. The selected candidate will join an existing collaborative team of graduate students, FIU faculty, as well as scientists from the South Florida Water Management District, Everglades National Park, and the Everglades Foundation, with a shared goal of understanding and forecasting peat collapse and carbon loss in coastal wetland ecosystems exposed to sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion. -- John Stephen Kominoski Assistant Professor Department of Biological Sciences and Southeast Environmental Research Center Florida International University 11200 SW 8th Street Miami, Florida 33199, USA Email: [email protected] Office: +1 305.348.7117 Lab: +1 305.348.6512 Fax: +1 305.348.1986 kominoskilab.wordpress.com
