Quantitative Ecologist – 2 year Research Position

Montana State University (MSU) and U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) in Bozeman, Montana seek a motivated quantitative ecologist to join a multi-disciplinary effort examining effects of climate change and mountain pine beetle disturbance on vegetation structure and composition, fire dynamics, and habitat suitability of selected woodpecker species. Synergistic interactions of climate, mountain pine beetle and wildfire are likely to catalyze landscape-scale changes in vegetation distributions, forest structure, and wildlife habitat suitability.

Job description: Primary work will be linking models of an ecosystem process, including a fire model, with a model of mountain pine beetle demography, with a model of wildlife habitat suitability. The linked models will allow for tracking tree and stand-level mortality in response to climate change and mountain pine beetle disturbance, and the associated interactions with fire, land management activities, and wildlife habitat suitability. The job will be located at RMRS on the MSU campus, Bozeman, MT and the successful candidate will be expected to spend work-time among Bozeman, Logan, UT, and Missoula, MT. Duties include acquiring, analyzing, and managing large climate databases; integrating models of mountain pine beetle demographics, fire, and avian demographics; analyzing spatial and tabular modeling results; manuscript preparation and publication; and oral presentations at workshops and scientific meetings.

Qualifications: The applicant should have: (1) a Ph.D. focused on applied mathematical modeling or biostatistics in ecology or natural resources, or sufficient research experience to perform required tasks; (2) excellent quantitative skills; (3) a demonstrated ability to publish in peer-reviewed journals; and (4) strong motivation to work independently and as a team member. The successful applicant is preferred to have strong interest and skills in computer modeling. Ideally, the candidate will have experience in use of C and Matlab programming, and extensive database management skills. Experience with spatial data manipulation (e.g., ArcGis and/or ERDAS) and statistical (R) software, and associated programs (e.g., Python) are also strongly desired. Importantly, the candidate will have a background in ecology or natural resources.

Send CV, statement of interest, reference list, cover letter, and copies of 3 relevant publications to Dr. Victoria Saab at vsaab@fs.fed.us. For more information contact Dr. Saab, Dr. Barbara Bentz (bbentz@fs.fed.us) or Dr. Rachel Loehman (rloehman@fs.fed.us), and see websites http://www.rmrs.nau.edu/wildlife/birdsandburns/; www.usu.edu/beetle; and http://www.firelab.org/cfdg.

Barbara J. Bentz, PhD

Research Entomologist

USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station

860 N. 1200 East

Logan, UT 84321

435-755-3577

435-890-3186 (mobile)

bbentz@fs.fed.us