[ES_JOBS_NET] MS, PhD, or post-doctoral positions in peatland microbiology and biogeochemistry: established climate change experiments

[Evan Kane]

Hello,

I would be grateful if you would please consider posting this (below) to
the list.

Thanks,
Evan

*MS, PhD, or post-doctoral positions in peatland microbiology and
biogeochemistry:  established climate change experiments*



We seek multiple individuals to study microbiology and biogeochemical
cycling in peatlands at Michigan Technological University, in collaboration
with the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station.  Positions will be
filled depending on experience, and we are accepting applicants at the MS,
PhD, or post-doctoral level. Two years (post-doc or MS) or three years
(PhD) of support are anticipated for competitive salary or tuition and
stipend, with projects centered on two NSF-funded studies.  The first is
entitled:  *Does ectomycorrhizal tree encroachment in peatlands accelerate
or suppress decomposition with altered hydrology?* In this study, we
leverage the Houghton Mesocosm Facility and field experiments in asking
cutting-edge questions about climate change effects on carbon cycle
processes in peatland ecosystems. See *Background* for more details about
the project.



We also seek individuals focused on a complementary NSF-funded study
entitled: *Long-term changes in peatland C fluxes and the interactive roles
of soil climate, vegetation, and*

*redox supply in governing anaerobic microbial activity*.  Please see
details, below.



*Position 1—biogeochemistry of peat anaerobic decomposition.* This position
focuses on questions related to above- and below-ground carbon balances in
northern peatlands, as affected by changes in water table and plant
functional groups.  A background or strong interest in understanding
mechanisms constraining trace gas fluxes (CO2 and CH4 efflux) and soil
decomposition dynamics is desired.  Research questions are broadly focused
on linking above- and below-ground carbon fluxes in dissolved, gaseous, and
solid forms.  More specifically, this position investigates constraints to
decomposition via microbial communities in aerated and hypoxic (or
anaerobic) wetland soils in the controlled setting of the Houghton Mesocosm
Facility.



*Position 2—fungal mediation of decomposition in peatlands.* The second
position is seeking a PhD student or post-doc to work on questions related
to fungal community composition, structure and function in northern
peatlands, as affected by changes in water table, peat chemistry, and tree
invasion. We are exploring the role of ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic
fungi in suppressing or stimulating decomposition of litter and peat in
peatlands.  A background in or familiarity with high throughput sequencing
of DNA and RNA, metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, quantitative PCR, and
fungal culturing, is desired.  This candidate would work in close
collaboration with the position described above, with questions broadly
focused on linking microbial community characteristics to carbon and
nutrient dynamics.



Consideration of applications begins immediately and will continue until
the positions are filled. Start date is flexible, but ideally would begin
the summer or fall of 2021. Please send a cover letter that states your
research interests, your curriculum vitae, and any other relevant
materials, and provide the names and contact information for three
references, by email to Evan Kane (eskane at mtu.edu) (Position 1) and Erik
Lilleskov (erik.a.lilleskov@ <elilleskov@>usda.gov) (Position 2).





*Position 3:-Alaska Peatland Experiment*



F*our Years of Support  *for a qualified individual to study response of
peatland ecosystems to climate change at Michigan Technological University,
in collaboration with The University of Alaska (Fairbanks) and Bonanza
Creek Long-Term Ecological Research site.  Four years of NSF support are
anticipated for research, tuition and stipend, to work in the Alaska
Peatland Experiment (APEX) (
https://www.lter.uaf.edu/research/study-sites-overview).  In this
experiment we are manipulating the presence of sedges and shrubs as well as
water table to understand their interactive effects on peatland carbon
cycling. Specific questions pertain to mechanisms of anaerobic metabolism
within deep organic soils (peat), and how these processes are likely to
change with altered hydrology.  The successful candidate should have a
background or strong interest in biogeochemistry, ecosystems ecology, plant
physiological ecology, soil science and/or wetland ecology. Demonstrated
research experience, including scientific publications, is a plus.



The position involves field work in Alaska during the summer, while being
enrolled as a graduate student at Michigan Technological University.  The
project is interdisciplinary and collaborative in nature, and there are
ample opportunities to work with collaborators at the US Forest Service,
Chapman University (Dr. Jason Keller), and The University of Colorado,
Boulder (Dr. Merritt Turetsky).  This allows exposure to multiple areas of
expertise, depending on the student’s interest and research questions.



Consideration of applications begins immediately and will continue until
the position is filled. Start date is somewhat flexible, but we are ideally
looking for someone in the Fall of semester, 2021. Please send a cover
letter that states your research interests, your curriculum vitae, and any
other relevant materials, and provide the names and contact information for
three references, by email to Evan Kane (eskane at mtu.edu) and Jason Keller (
jkeller at chapman.edu).





*Additional Information:*



*Michigan Tech* is located in the snowbelt (>200” annual snowfall) of
Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula on the South Shore of Lake Superior.  The
region is dominated by vast areas of lakes, forests and wetlands.  Michigan
Tech is in the small university town of Houghton, which was rated as one of
the top 10 U.S. adrenaline outposts by National Geographic Adventure
Magazine, boasting excellent skiing, hiking, kayaking and mountain biking.
Michigan Tech was ranked #5 on College Factual's most recent list of the
best schools for forestry majors in the U.S.



*Background*: Peatlands are carbon (C) dense ecosystems that store about
1/3 of soil C globally in 1/30th of the land area, yet are vulnerable to
oxidation as a result of climate change or drainage. Peatland C stocks are
generally protected under saturated conditions; however, many peatlands
will become drier in the future climate or have been drained for
agriculture or forestry. While it is generally assumed that drier
conditions will increase decomposition, there are potential feedbacks that
lead to major uncertainty in how long-term drying will alter the trajectory
of decomposition. For example, drier conditions have been shown to favor
the encroachment of woody plant communities in peatlands, which have
implications for changes in decomposition strategies. Changes in fungal
community associated with different plant functional groups
(ectomycorrhizal trees, Ericaceae, sedges) are particularly important in
mediating changes in decomposition, yet our understanding of how these
different fungal groups influence decomposition *in situ* is rudimentary.



Our key motive is to understand the countervailing effects of woody plant
encroachment and short- and long-term drainage on both aerobic and
anaerobic decomposition in peatlands. Here, we propose a three-way full
factorial experiment using large intact (1 m cubed) peat pedons in a
climate controlled mesocosm facility, manipulating peat drainage history
(peat from pristine and 80+ year drained adjacent sites), water table
position, and tree presence. This will be paralleled by a field experiment
in which we will manipulate tree root access over drainage gradients. We
hypothesize that tree encroachment will increase decomposition in the
short-term drainage treatment as a function of the extracellular enzyme
suite of the ectomycorrhizal fungal (EcMF) community. Moreover, we
hypothesize that divergent fungal decomposer pathways and drainage
histories will generate peat with differing capacity for donating and
accepting electrons under anaerobic conditions. Processes occurring over
decades— changes in solid and dissolved phase organic electron donors and
acceptors with changes in decomposer community—will interact with water
table and plant community mediated processes driving oxidation and
reduction, with a shift in decomposition processes from electron acceptor
limitation to electron donor limitation. The mesocosm approach is the key
to this study, allowing us to manipulate both drainage history and water
tables, thus disentangling short- and long-term impacts of changing
hydrology; whereas the field experiment will anchor results in the natural
environment. Through this and detailed characterization of fungal community
functional changes and consequent effects on oxidative enzymes,
decomposition, peat chemistry, and "redox pumping" in peat, we will gain
mechanistic insight into the long-term stability of peat in response to
altered hydrology.
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