Our research lab has summer (April-August) and part-time openings for excellent students and assistants interested in gaining experience in EVOLUTIONARY AND CONSERVATION ECOLOGY. Applicants should be in good health, be willing to travel, possess a valid driver's licence and be prepared to work long hours in the field under all conditions. Applicants with experience in outdoor activities, in remote camping, and in field ecology are particularly encouraged to apply. Opportunities for concurrent data collection toward undergraduate theses will be provided where appropriate.
Current research projects focus on the evolution of habitat selection, on the evolution of life histories and on their respective roles in population dynamics, in community organization, and in the conservation of biodiversity. We are especially interested in linking the adaptive behaviours of individuals to their population, metapopulation, community and conservation consequences.
Field research takes place in a variety of locations and ecosystems. Recent projects have concentrated on controlled experiments in Lakehead University's Habitron, and field studies of small mammals in boreal forests of Northwestern Ontario, in tundra ecosystems in Nunavut, in prairie landscapes in southern Alberta and in Carolinian forests in Southwestern Ontario. Parallel studies by graduate students have involved computer simulations, field studies on predator-prey dynamics in India and stream-dwelling fishes in Newfoundland, and creative laboratory experiments on short-lived organisms.
Please address inquiries to: dmorris@lakeheadu.ca
Applications should include a resume, a statement of goals and objectives, and the names, email addresses, and phone numbers of three references.
Lakehead University is optimally located for field studies in boreal ecosystems, and as a base for field research in western and northern Canada. Our globally unique Habitron enables a wide variety of experiments assessing interconnections among habitat, adaptive behaviors, population dynamics and the conservation of biodiversity. Programs in Biology, Natural Resources Management and Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism share an ecological and conservation theme with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry's Centre for Northern Forest Ecosystem Research (CNFER) as well as with Wildlife Conservation Society Canada's Thunder Bay office.