PhD Assistantship at The Pennsylvania State University in population monitoring of black bear statewide in Pennsylvania
Description: We are offering a PhD graduate student assistantship to start summer/fall 2024 in the Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (PACRU) in the Intercollege Grad- uate Degree Program in Ecology at The Pennsylvania State University (PSU). The position is fully funded by the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) for up to 4 years. This is a collaborative effort between PACRU, PGC, and PSU to estimate black bear population density, space-use, and movement behavior across the entire state of Pennsylvania. This project will involve being the lead researcher in organizing and/or assisting portions of fieldwork for collaring up to 240 black bear in 6 regions of Pennsylvania with global system positioning collars. The candidate will then be responsible for compiling black bear survival, population, and movement data and and spatial data layers from across the state and among collaborators. The student will incorporate these datasets to model population size and movement behavior across various regions of the state. The student will be co-advised by Drs. David Walter and Franny Buderman.
Qualifications: Minimum of an MS degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Science or related field with a background in spatial, demographic, and/or Bayesian analysis. Graduate research will focus on data analysis, with potential fieldwork depending on the candidate’s skillset.
Applications: Applications will be accepted through 1 December 2023 or until an acceptable applicant is found. Interested applicants should submit the following items: 1) a C.V. 2) unoffi- cial transcripts, 3) contact information for 3 references and 4) a 1-2 page description of research interests and responses to qualifications. Applications should be submitted in a single PDF by email to wdw12@psu.edu with the subject line: PHD GRADUATE STUDENT ASSISTANTSHIP.
Salary: Grade 14 (∼$33,393) in Year 1 and Grade 15 (∼$34,272) following successful completion of the qualifying exam (Years 2-4), which includes summer salary. Tuition is also included, as well as medical benefits.
