[ES_JOBS_NET] *NEW* Coastal Connections Post-Baccalaureate program

[Amanda Spivak]

2023-2024 Coastal Connections Post-Baccalaureate program

The Coastal Connections Post-Bac program provides interdisciplinary and collaborate research experiences and career training to recent college graduates. Students will be paired with a mentor affiliated with one of four National Science Foundation supported Long-Term Ecological Research sites: Plum Island Ecosystems (PIE), Virginia Coastal Reserve (VCR), Georgia Coastal Ecosystems (GCE), and Florida Coastal Ecosystems (FCE). Over one year students will collaborate with their mentors and cohort on different aspects of a common research project. The 2023-2024 research theme focuses on the effects of bioturbation on salt marsh ecosystem functioning in a changing climate.

Bioturbating animals are ecosystem engineers that move soils to build burrows or search for food. These activities alter the soil environment and microbial activities. Bioturbators also play key roles in food webs by affecting trophic structure and diversity. These effects happen at small scales but across the ecosystem they shape biogeochemical cycles and community ecology. The warming climate is facilitating the geographic expansion of some species from southern to more northern environments. Consequently, the present-day effects of bioturbators in southern marshes may foretell how northern marshes will change in the future.

Students will conduct focused research on how bioturbators affect food web ecology (mentor: Dr. James Nelson, University of Louisiana; site: FCE), invertebrate ecology (mentor: Dr. David Johnson, Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences; site: VCR), microbial ecology (mentor: Dr. Jennifer Bowen, Northeastern University; site: PIE), and soil biogeochemistry (mentor: Dr. Amanda Spivak, University of Georgia; site GCE). Students will travel to all 4 LTER sites, attend scientific meetings, participate in the graduate school preparation course BEACHES (https://cos.northeastern.edu/beaches/), and expand their professional networks.

Details:
Stipend: $32,500 with a dedicated research budget.
Must be a recent college graduate with a Bachelor of Sciences or Arts degree.
Must be a US citizen, national, or permanent resident.
Preference to applicants from backgrounds that are underrepresented in STEM.
Application requires CV/resume, transcript, statement of interest, and 2 letters of recommendation.
Deadline: May 1 2023
Program dates: June 1 2023- May 31 2024
Apply Here: https://forms.gle/Dc7xBE8Z37ER7wg96


Amanda Spivak
Associate Professor
Department of Marine Sciences
Franklin College of Arts and Sciences
University of Georgia
762.499.6228

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