BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY IN A UNISEXUAL-BISEXUAL SPECIES COMPLEX OF MOLLIES Teaching Assistantship for M. S.
Applications are being sought from students with grit and optimism that wish to pursue a Masters degree in Conservation and Population Biology. Students should also have both curiosity and zest about studying various aspects of the behavior ecology of sailfin and Amazon mollies starting fall 2016. Amazon mollies, Poecilia formosa, are a unisexual (all female) species of molly that are essentially sexual parasites as they require sperm from the closely related bisexual sailfin molly, P. latipinna, and Atlantic molly, P. mexicana, but don’t use it to fertilize their eggs. Conflict exists between male mollies that prefer to mate with conspecifics and the Amazon mollies that require matings with these males. We can offer an Instructional Assistant (teaching labs) for the length of your degree. See http://gabor.wp.txstate.edu/ for details about our lab and our research interests. The Department of Biology offers a strong environment for training students in conservation and evolutionary ecology. The Masters program in Population and Conservation Biology would be the best fit for such an applicant. For more information on the Population and Conservation Biology program etc. see http://www.bio.txstate.edu/Graduate-Programs/pop-and-con-biology.html. Interested students should send an email with a statement of interest that includes a summary of why you are interested in working on this project, as well as broadly discussing your research interests. Please include a copy of your CV, relevant coursework, GRE, and any other relevant experience to Caitlin Gabor by email (gabor at txstate.edu). Reference letters for top candidates will be solicited at a later date. Applications will be reviewed as they come in. Applications to our Masters program are evaluated on a rolling basis so it is still possible to start fall 2016.
