Postdoctoral Position in Fire Ecology and Pollination Funding is available through a multi-university USFWS State Wildlife Grant Program to examine the impact of prescribed fire and wildflower seeding on plant-pollinator interactions across the US Southern Central Plains. The postdoctoral position will be supported by the Jha Lab at the University of Texas at Austin (https://w3.biosci.utexas.edu/jha/) and the Baum Lab at Oklahoma State University (http://kabaum.wix.com/home), with residence in Austin, Texas for the first two years. A third year of funding is available and contingent upon research progress.
The postdoctoral project involves coordinating prescribed burn and wildflower seeding treatments to restore prairie systems across northern Texas and southern Oklahoma and evaluating the impacts of these treatments on native plant recovery, pollinator communities, and pollinator foraging ecology. The project will include one year of implementing the treatments (including pre and post-fire fuel load analyses) and two or more years of plant and pollinator monitoring (including assessment of monarchs, native bees, and other species of conservation need). The objective is to characterize the impact of local restoration practices on plant and pollinator communities and their interactions to inform regional and national pollinator restoration practices. Qualified candidates are required to have a Ph.D. in ecology, wildlife biology, entomology, or a related field of study. Candidates with background in fire ecology are strongly encouraged to apply; hands-on experience with prescribed fires is especially desirable. The research project will have a large field component, and thus some type of relevant field expertise (such as prescribed fire, vegetation surveys, bee community surveys, or wildland seeding) is required. Excellent communication skills, including effective writing, are also required. Prior experience supervising undergraduate students, working with landowners, and/or identifying native bees is a plus. It is expected that the appointee will be involved in the management of a large field crew and the mentoring of graduate and undergraduate students, as well as outreach/extension activities. This is full-time postdoctoral researcher position with excellent benefits. Interested applicants should send (1) a letter of interest (~1 page) describing previous research experience and their interests in working on the project, (2) a CV, and (3) contact information for three references willing to provide a recommendation. Please send any questions regarding the position to [email protected] (Subject line: “Postdoc position”). To apply, go to https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/hr/jobs/nlogon/search/0/ and search for job # 16-11-16-01-0712. Review of applications will begin Dec 20th 2016, and will continue until the position is filled; however, applications received by the deadline will be given priority consideration. The University of Texas at Austin is home to a vibrant research community, with strengths in population and community ecology, fire ecology, behavior, molecular biology, population genetics/genomics, multi-species interactions, and evolutionary biology. Opportunities exist to learn a range of both field-based and lab-based experimental techniques and to develop grant proposals for additional research projects. The University of Texas at Austin is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.
