Food and Fear: Decoupling the Drivers of Habitat Selection
We are looking for a motivated Ph.D. student to work on a multifaceted study
examine how predation risk, food availability and vegetative structure drive habitat selection of wildlife. This project is a collaborative effort between The Jones Ecological Research Center (http://www.jonesctr.org/) and The Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the University of
Florida (http://www.wec.ufl.edu/). Our understanding of animals’ use of environmental features (habitat selection) has been critical to the advancement of wildlife ecology and management. However in many studies, the relationship between environmental features and animal’s use of space is understood with easily measurable features and not those factors that would theoretically influence an animal’s use of space (i.e. predation risk and food resource). We are looking for a student to develop a number of field-based wildlife research projects and experiments to decouple the potential drivers of habitat selection (predation risk and food resource) from salient and easily measurable environmental features. The student will have the option to use of eight =BD ha enclosures for their research. The enclosures can be stocked with small to medium sized mammals and lizards and can be manipulated to exclude mammalian and avian predators.
The selected student will also be given the flexibility to expand this study to accommodate their interests. We will provide an assistantship covering salary ($18,000), tuition, and insurance for 4 years. Additionally, housing will be provided when the student is conducting field work. We are looking for a self-motivated, independent student with a previous record of academic
achievement and field experience. Applicants should have a minimum 3.2 GPA,
greater than 1200 on the GRE (310 on the new scale) and considerable field
experience. To apply, send a resume, GRE scores, transcripts, and a list of
3 references along with brief statements describing how you are prepared for
PhD program and your career goals to Dr. Robert McCleery at ramccleery@ufl.edu by March 1, 2014.