<div dir="ltr">Hello,<div><br></div><div>I would be grateful if you would please consider posting this (below) to the list.</div><div><br></div><div>Thanks,</div><div>Evan</div><div><br></div><div><span name="metricconverter">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><b><span style="font-size:14pt">MS, PhD, or post-doctoral positions in peatland microbiology
and biogeochemistry: established climate
change experiments</span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:11pt">We seek multiple<b> </b>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:
<i>Does ectomycorrhizal tree
encroachment in peatlands accelerate or suppress decomposition with altered
hydrology?</i> 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 <b>Background</b> for
more details about the project. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:11pt">We also seek individuals
focused on a complementary NSF-funded study entitled: <i>Long-term changes in peatland C fluxes and the interactive roles of
soil climate, vegetation, and</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><i><span style="font-size:11pt">redox supply in governing anaerobic microbial activity</span></i><span style="font-size:11pt">. Please see
details, below. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><b><span style="font-size:11pt">Position 1—biogeochemistry
of peat anaerobic decomposition.</span></b><span style="font-size:11pt"> 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 (CO<sub>2</sub>
and CH<sub>4</sub> 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. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><b><span style="font-size:11pt">Position 2—fungal
mediation of decomposition in peatlands.</span></b><span style="font-size:11pt">
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. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:11pt">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 (<a href="mailto:eskane@mtu.edu" style="color:blue">eskane@mtu.edu</a>)
(Position 1) and Erik Lilleskov (<a href="mailto:elilleskov@" style="color:blue">erik.a.lilleskov@</a><a href="http://usda.gov">usda.gov</a>)
(Position 2).</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><b><span style="font-size:11pt">Position 3:-Alaska Peatland Experiment</span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:11pt">F<b>our Years of Support </b>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)
(<a href="https://www.lter.uaf.edu/research/study-sites-overview">https://www.lter.uaf.edu/research/study-sites-overview</a>). 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. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:11pt">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. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:11pt">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 (<a href="mailto:eskane@mtu.edu">eskane@mtu.edu</a>)
and Jason Keller (<a href="mailto:jkeller@chapman.edu">jkeller@chapman.edu</a>).</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><b><span style="font-size:11pt">Additional Information:</span></b></p>
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<p class="gmail-MsoNoSpacing" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><b><span style="font-size:11pt">Michigan Tech</span></b><span style="font-size:11pt"> 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.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><b><span style="font-size:11pt">Background</span></b><span style="font-size:11pt">: 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 <i>in situ</i> is
rudimentary.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:11pt">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.</span></p>
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