Graduate Student Opportunity in Entomology in the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta

Principal Investigators: Drs Maya Evenden http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/faculty/maya_evenden/  and Allan Carroll  http://profiles.forestry.ubc.ca/person/allan-carroll/

Project title: Characterization of the Endemic-Epidemic Population Threshold in the Mountain Pine Beetle

Highly qualified potential graduate students are invited to join the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta (http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/) in the lab of Dr. Maya Evenden.  Although based at the University of Alberta, this project will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Allan Carroll in the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences (http://www.forestry.ubc.ca/) at the University of British Columbia.

Project:  This project is part of a large multi-institutional, multi-investigator study: “The NSERC TRIA Network: Turning risk into action for the Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) epidemic” (http://www.thetriaproject.ca/) with the main goal to fill key knowledge gaps of the MPB-pine-fungal associate system that limits our ability to monitor, assess, and predict MPB risk to Canada's forests.  Within this overall objective, the graduate student will determine potential for long-term persistence and eruption by MPB in novel pine forests.

Objectives

(1) Quantify the endemic niche of MPB in novel habitats east of the Rocky Mountains.

(2) Determine the endemic-epidemic threshold in these novel habitats.

(3) Determine the effect of population density on MPB dispersal capacity.

The student will conduct both field and laboratory experiments to achieve these objectives.

Applicants must have an Honors degree or higher (e.g. MSc) relevant to biology, training and experience. We seek students with an interest in ecology and a background in entomology and field work would be an asset. Applicants should have a high GPA (3.5+ or minimum A-), be highly competent in quantitative analyses, and possess excellent written and oral communication skills in English.

The position provides full funding for MSc (2.3 years) or PhD (5 years) to qualified applicants.

Application process: Applicants must first send a cover letter outlining their relevant background and research interests, their CV, and the names of 2-3 potential references to mevenden@ualberta.ca.  Interviews and formal invitation to apply to the graduate program in Biological Sciences may then follow for those who meet the criteria.
For Graduate Program Information see: http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/programs/graduate/