PhD and MS Student Positions in Community Ecology and Ecosystem Functioning of Rivers
The Nowlin Aquatic Ecology Lab (Department of Biology, Aquatic Station, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, USA) is seeking highly motivated and curious PhD and MS students to join a large, well-funded, multi-disciplinary, and collaborative group of researchers working on a large-scale project: “Quantifying drivers of native and non-native aquatic species abundance and distribution in drought- and flood-prone Texas basins”. The project is a collaboration between researchers at TX State University and the US Army Corps of Engineers (the Engineer Research and Development Center).
The positions are immediately available for applicants with a desire to develop quantitative, problem-solving, collaborative, and communication skills. A minimum of 2-years of Research Assistantship support (including tuition coverage) will be provided. Students will be enrolled in the PhD program (Aquatic Resources and Integrative Biology; https://www.bio.txstate.edu/Graduate-Programs/Ph-D–Aquatic-Resources.html) or MS program (Aquatic Resources; https://www.bio.txstate.edu/Graduate-Programs/M-S–Aquatic-Resources.html) in the Department of Biology.
Thesis and dissertation topics are open for discussion and can include: spatiotemporal patterns of species diversity and distribution across and within drainages, cycling and transport of nutrients, food web ecology, and ecosystem metabolism. River ecosystems in much of Texas are biologically diverse, span multiple environmental gradients (e.g., climate) and regions (e.g., geology and ecoregion), and provide excellent opportunities to test hypotheses across large and small spatiotemporal scales. The Aquatic Station (location of the lab) houses an animal wet lab facility, a diversity of instrumentation and an experimental stream facility.
Our collaborative group at Texas State University, a federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution, seeks to contribute to increased diversity and representation (visible and invisible) in aquatic sciences. We are especially interested in applicants who share our commitment to equity and high-quality education of students from historically underserved and marginalized communities. We seek and encourage candidates from under-represented groups to apply. Applicants for all positions are encouraged to describe how they will support and contribute to our efforts build and maintain a diverse and inclusive research team.
For questions or additional information about any of these positions, please contact Dr. Weston Nowlin at: [email protected]
