We are recruiting a PhD student for research on the ecology of lynx in recently burned landscapes of North Cascades, Washington. Lynx are specialist predators on snowshoe hares and are typically found in mature forests. As wildfires have increased dramatically over the last 2 decades, much of the former “lynx habitat” in Washington has burned, resulting in a radically different landscape for lynx.
The PhD student will examine the links between landscape change and predator-prey interactions using data from GPS-collared lynx as well as a camera array and back-tracking. The student will be expected to tackle theoretical and applied questions related to lynx ecology, making advances in both fundamental research and the science-policy interface.
This work is taking place with a team of people from different sectors. The student will be supervised at UBC Okanagan by Dr. Karen Hodges on research spearheaded by Carmen Vanbianchi and the non-profit Home Range Wildlife Research (homerange.org). Collaborators include people from the US Forest Service and US Fish and Wildlife Service.
The ideal start date is September 2023, but is negotiable. Candidates will not be considered unless they have been in contact with us first and encouraged to complete the formal application.
Qualifications
Completion of a MSc in a related field is strongly preferred, as are applicants with publications or manuscripts in review. Applicants must have experience working on field research projects, knowledge of GIS, statistics (e.g., R), and a demonstrated interest in one or more of the following topics: 1) movement ecology; 2) predator-prey ecology; 3) fire ecology. The student must be willing to work in a highly collaborative environment that includes: 1) co-supervision by two (motivated and mentoring) PIs; 2) government biologists; 3) other graduate students working on related research projects.
Please email both Carmen Vanbianchi AND Karen Hodges karen.hodges@ubc.ca a single PDF [formatted as: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME.pdf] that includes: (1) 1-2 page cover letter indicating i) past experiences in field ecology and research, ii) your reasons for wishing to pursue a PhD, and iii) your anticipated fit with the PIs; (2) a current CV; (3) copies of undergraduate and graduate transcripts [unofficial is fine]; (4) contact information for 3 references. Please use the subject header “lynx PhD Application”. For full consideration, please submit this package no later than December 5, 2022. We reserve the right to consider applications submitted after this time. We will ask only our top candidate(s) to complete the formal UBC Okanagan application, since that entails additional time and expense.
