Ecology and Sociobiology of a Wolf-Ungulate Predator-Prey Game
Start Date: September 2015 (flexibility exists for exceptional candidates)
We have a fully funded PhD position for a student interested studying the spatial ecology and sociobiology of predator-prey dynamics with links to population and disease ecology in a wolf-ungulate community.
System: Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP) in Manitoba is among the best-studied large mammal communities in Canada. Peer-reviewed research has been produced from the RMNP system for the last 80 years: from Green (1933) and Banfield (1949) to Paquet (1990s) and our recent work. RMNP is a rich system within which to simultaneously ask fundamental and applied ecological and evolutionary questions.
Over the coming years and primarily using GPS collars, this project will see all wolf packs and >80% of the elk monitored in one of RMNP’s elk subpopulations, creating a near-perfect spatial and temporal picture of predatory-prey interactions between wolves and their primary prey. Furthermore, the successful applicant will have access to our considerable collection of historical individual- and population-level data on space use and population densities of elk, moose, white-tailed deer and wolves (see our papers for examples). As a result, this project will provide excellent opportunities for both academic and professional advancement. Because it is a PhD-level project, the successful applicant will be expected to develop her or his own ideas and research plan in collaboration with the research team.
In the Wildlife Evolutionary Ecology Lab we feel strongly that novel biological ideas are derived from interacting directly with our study species and system, and the successful applicant will be expected to spend considerable amounts of time in the field, supported by an excellent team of biologists at RMNP. The successful applicant will be required to actively investigate kill- and den-sites and to fly telemetry, while simultaneously working with existing data. At the PhD level, this will require an exceptional applicant who can both be in the field and continue to actively analyze and write throughout their program.
Qualifications: In addition to a MSc that complements this research, applicants should have five main qualities: (1) a passion for ecological and evolutionary theory; (2) an aptitude for and commitment to research in the field – in all seasons; (3) welldeveloped quantitative skills in GIS, statistical programing in R, and experience or an interest in modeling; (4) a track-record of publishing their research in reputable peer-reviewed journals; (5) and foremost, evidence of collegiality.
Team: This research is part of a larger collaborative program studying predatory-prey dynamics in wolf-ungulate systems in southern Manitoba. As a result the successful applicant will be a part of a research team that includes Parks Canada biologists, Manitoba Fish and Wildlife ecologists, a MSc student in RMNP (start date May 2016), and another PhD student studying wolf-ungulate dynamics in eastern MB. This collaborative opportunity will permit the right applicant to participate in projects and publications in addition to their own core research.
Wildlife Evolutionary Ecology Lab (http://ericvanderwal.weebly.com/): We are a question-driven research group; one of a number of productive and dynamic research groups in ecology, evolution, and animal behavior at MUN. We bridge fundamental and applied questions in evolutionary, behavioral, population, and wildlife ecology, particularly with social ungulates. RMNP has been one of our keystone and must productive research systems and this new program aims to further advance our work on density-dependent resource and space use, social and group dynamics of ungulates now with a finer-scale understanding of the predatory-prey game.
To apply please send a letter of interest, CV, and transcripts (unofficial) to eric.vanderwal@mun.ca. Although the position is fully funded, students will be encouraged to compete for internal and external funding; higher GPAs and a history of publications improves competitiveness. The competition will remain open until the position is filled.