[Taxacom] PhD position available

[Robert R. Dunn]

Opening: PhD Student in Biogeography, Societies, Climate Change, or
Species Interactions

Positions for PhD students are available in the laboratory of Rob Dunn at
North Carolina State University, with funding through a mix of research
assistantships and TAs to work on any of a wide range of topics. Student
should be curious, driven and excited enough about science that it is what
they might choose to do were they to win the lottery.

Opportunities exist to work on
 societies (be they insect or otherwise),
climate change, biogeography or some combination thereof. Within this
context, students interested in the biology of parasites, infectious
diseases, mutualists (be they butterflies, plants, microbes or anything
else) or commensals of social insects and other societies are particularly
encouraged to apply.

Research projects that span more than one lab within
our conservation ecology lab group
(http://www4.ncsu.edu/~rrdunn/labgroup.html), social
insect group (http://www.ncsu.edu/project/honey_bee_res/NCSU-
SIWG.html) or with existing collaborators associated with
global projects on ants (http://www.antmacroecology.org/) are also
encouraged.

Students who are interested in applying to the lab should
send a CV, a list of reference writers, and a writing sample
to Rob_Dunn “at” ncsu.edu. The CV should include information about
existing skill sets such as languages spoken, molecular techniques,
natural history knowledge, databasing abilities, GIS, or taxonomic
knowledge. If you can
identify, for example, every ant, fungus, springtail, carnivore tick, or
mammal species in New Mexico, Alberta or anywhere else, let me know.

Current student projects in the lab include work on the biogeography of
carnivores and their parasites, the behavior of male ants, the
consequences of the cryptic invasion of a termite specialist ant, and
modeling of the interactions between seed dispersers and seeds. Lab
projects include global analysis of the biogeography of ants, modeling
consequences of climate change for insects, pests and diseases, and an
effort to work with NASA to highlight areas where discovery of new species
is most likely.

Inquires from individuals of diverse backgrounds and underrepresented
groups are particularly encouraged.

For more information about the lab see: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~rrdunn/