Of interest to some....
Graduate Student Positions Available: Winter Ecology of Common Eiders in Arctic Sea Ice Habitats
The Centre for Wildlife Ecology at Simon Fraser University, in partnership with Environment Canada and the Arctic Eider Society are seeking graduate students to study the winter ecology of the Hudson Bay Common Eider. The projects will build on existing research on factors affecting foraging and winter survival of eiders diving for benthic food in winter sea ice habitats. Projects will have a strong emphasis on analysis and modeling foraging behaviour and energetics using dynamic models of adaptive behaviour, building on those created to date. Existing data on underwater foraging and benthic prey including novel underwater video, underwater timelapse, aerial timelapse of flocks and radio telemetry data will be provided for image and time series analysis to facilitate model development and testing. Suitable candidates may also conduct additional winter field work in the Arctic, though this is not a requirement for the projects.
Two possible projects are available. A Ph.D. student is sought to study social foraging and prey dynamics, which will address how social interactions (interference, facilitation) influence aggregation, distribution and spatial community ecology of eiders and benthic invertebrates in sea ice habitats. A second student is sought at either the Masters of PhD level to study prey selection, energy storage and depletion of prey resources by eiders during mid-winter.
Candidates should have an appropriate background in ecology or other relevant sciences, an interest and/or aptitude for quantitative modeling including programming (e.g. in "R", Matlab or similar), and ability to work both independently and as part of a collaborative team of interdisciplinary researchers.
Candidates interested in enrolling for September 2014 should contact Ron Ydenberg (ydenberg@sfu.ca) as soon as possible, as the deadline for Graduate Studies applications is June 1st. Suitable candidates may also enroll for January 2015.The Centre for Wildlife Ecology at Simon Fraser University, in partnership with Environment Canada and the Arctic Eider Society are seeking graduate students to study the winter ecology of the Hudson Bay Common Eider. The projects will build on existing research on factors affecting foraging and winter survival of eiders diving for benthic food in winter sea ice habitats. Projects will have a strong emphasis on analysis and modeling foraging behaviour and energetics using dynamic models of adaptive behaviour, building on those created to date. Existing data on underwater foraging and benthic prey including novel underwater video, underwater timelapse, aerial timelapse of flocks and radio telemetry data will be provided for image and time series analysis to facilitate model development and testing. Suitable candidates may also conduct additional winter field work in the Arctic, though this is not a requirement for the projects.
Two possible projects are available. A Ph.D. student is sought to study social foraging and prey dynamics, which will address how social interactions (interference, facilitation) influence aggregation, distribution and spatial community ecology of eiders and benthic invertebrates in sea ice habitats. A second student is sought at either the Masters of PhD level to study prey selection, energy storage and depletion of prey resources by eiders during mid-winter.
Candidates should have an appropriate background in ecology or other relevant sciences, an interest and/or aptitude for quantitative modeling including programming (e.g. in "R", Matlab or similar), and ability to work both independently and as part of a collaborative team of interdisciplinary researchers.
