Ph.D. GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIP is available beginning Aug 2009 within the Ecology Department, Montana State University (MSU) to work on nesting ecology of ducks in North and South Dakota. The research will investigate the role of winter wheat to nesting success at multiple spatial scales. Preliminary data suggest that nests in winter wheat fields may have high survival rates, and funding is now in place to conduct an intensive investigation of factors influencing nest survival in landscapes where a winter cereals program is in place. The student’s research advisor will be Jay Rotella. The work will be done in close conjunction with biologists and GIS specialists at the Great Plains Regional Office of Ducks Unlimited. The project is funded for 4 years, and the assistantship pays $18,000 per year and includes an out-of-state tuition waiver. M.S. in wildlife biology, conservation biology, ecology, natural resource management, or related field is required. The successful applicant must have a GRE of over 1100 (verbal and quantitative). If you are interested, please contact DR. JAY ROTELLA, Ecology Department, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717. For more details please visit: (URL: http://www.montana.edu/rotella/opportunities.htm).