Job Market

The stable isotope tree ring group at Swansea University in the UK are currently advertising for three technicians. Deadline - 6th March '08.

Salary £13739(GBP) - £15300(GBP) (per annum.)Applications are invited for 3, Fixed Term Technicians, Grade 3, in the Department of Geography. The successful applicants will be required to prepare wood samples for stable isotope mass spectrometry. Applicants should be self-motivated, organised, patient and methodical in their work. Attention to detail and the ability to complete delicate manual work successfully on a regular basis is essential. Applicants should have an ONC or equivalent in a science based subject, experience of laboratory work and a familiarity with computers would be preferable.

· Tree ring measurement and annual ring cutting using a scalpel under magnification.
· Isolating cellulose using organic solvents and bleaches.
· Weighing and packing cellulose for mass spectrometric analysis.
· Data entry and archival of samples.
· Training in mass spectrometry (if necessary).

Completed application forms should be returned to the Human Resources Department, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK, by Thursday 6th March 2008. Profile is available at: http://www.swan.ac.uk/media/Media,18296,en.pdf.

Studentship
Late Holocene Stand Dynamics of Scots Pine in the Highlands of Scotland

Applications are invited for a NERC-funded PhD Studentship starting in September 2008. The studentship is an open competition and ultimately the choice of the final student reflects their ability and academic record and not the project itself.

In collaboration with the UK Forestry Commission we have submitted a project entitled: Late Holocene Stand Dynamics of Scots Pine in the Highlands of Scotland. Supervisors: Rob Wilson (rjsw@st-andrews.ac.uk) and Colin Edwards (Forest Research)

The Studentship is available to UK (full grant) or EU (normally fees only grant) citizens. More information and the full project list are listed at: http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/gg/news/vacancies/

Applications from individuals outside the EU is more problematic/costly due to Overseas student fees. More information on possible scholarship awards can be found here: http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/admissions/scholarships/

Application on the University’s pro forma should be submitted to the address at the head of the pro forma. A copy of the application should be sent by e-mail to ho10@st-andrews.ac.uk along with your c.v. and a covering letter identifying your preferred project. Mine hopefully!!

Please note that the closing date for applications is March 21st 2008.

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Position in Environmental History
Rhodes College

Rhodes College is pleased to announce the receipt of a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation that will enable the College to support a program in Environmental Studies. Therefore, the History Department at Rhodes College invites applications for a three-year postdoctoral position in environmental history beginning in August, 2008. All areas and periods of specialization in environmental history are welcome. We encourage applications from individuals whose interests go beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries. Ph.D. by August 2008 is expected. Commitment to undergraduate education required. Teaching experience and scholarly publications desirable.

Teaching load is four courses each year, normally consisting of surveys and seminars in environmental history. In addition, the fellow will participate in the creation of the new college-wide interdisciplinary Environmental Studies program. Also, travel funds and an attractive benefits package are included.

Please send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, and at least three letters of recommendation electronically to Professor Robert Saxe at saxer@rhodes.edu. Review of completed applications begins March 15, 2008.

Founded in 1848, Rhodes College is a highly selective, private, residential, undergraduate college, located in Memphis, Tennessee. We aspire to graduate students with a lifelong passion for learning, a compassion for others, and the ability to translate academic study and personal concern into effective leadership and action in their communities and the world. We encourage applications from candidates interested in helping us achieve this vision. Memphis has a metropolitan population of over one million and is the nation's 18th largest metropolitan area. The city provides multiple opportunities for research and for cultural and recreational activities. Read more about Memphis.

We are an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity in the workforce.

M.S. Assistantship in Forest Ecology
Oklahoma State University

The Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management (NREM) at OSU is seeking applications for a MS graduate research assistantship (GRA) in forest ecology to study the extent, magnitude and possible reasons for forest composition and structure changes over the past 50 years. Research will involve remeasurement of forest plots and dendroecological techniques and is part of the project, “Magnitude and geographic distribution of the threat of eastern redcedar encroachment in Oklahoma Cross Timbers forests.” In addition to the cooperation of several departments at OSU, the research includes collaboration with the Tree Ring Laboratory at the University of Arkansas and the Oklahoma Biological Survey at the University of Oklahoma.

The Cross Timbers vegetation type is a mosaic of oak forest, oak woodland and tallgrass prairie covering almost 5 million hectares from southeastern Kansas across Oklahoma to north-central Texas. It retains some of the best preserved old-growth oak forests in the south-central US because the forest has little commercial timber value. When Washington Irving visited these forests in 1835 he called them the “cast iron forest.” These forests are highly threatened today by overgrazing, invasive species, exclusion of fire and clearing for agriculture and urbanization.

Position: The student will enroll in a MS program in at OSU starting Summer or Fall 2008. The stipend will be $15,504 per year for two years and will be renewed after one year based on satisfactory progress. Benefits include tuition waiver and health insurance.

Application: A complete application includes the following: personal statement, three letters of reference, curriculum vitae, official transcripts of all college level study, GRE scores and a completed OSU Graduate College application. Please contact Steve Hallgren with questions.

Steve Hallgren
022 Ag Hall
Natural Resource Ecology and Management
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK 74078
office: 405-744-6805
FAX: 405-744-3530
steve.hallgren@okstate.edu

Graduate Studies in Fire Science
The University of Arizona

Applications are being accepted now for graduate assistantships (M.S. and Ph.D.) in fire science in the University of Arizona, School of Natural Resources (SNR).

Fire research in SNR includes work in a wide range of vegetation types, from desert grasslands to subalpine forests. Projects linking fire history to vegetation and climate dynamics are a central focus. General research interests in our lab include restoration of fire as a landscape process, linking fire history and fire behavior, and reconstructing spatial and temporal properties of fire regimes. Current research projects are located in the southwestern US, Great Basin, and northern Mexico. Funded projects available for student support include work in the Jemez and Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico and the Pinaleño Mountains of southern Arizona in fire history, fire behavior, and fire-climate relationships.

Applications should include 1) a statement of interests and goals, 2) c.v. with copies of transcripts and GRE scores, and 3) names and contact information for 3 references. For general admission requirements to the University, please see:
http://ag.arizona.edu/srnr/academicprograms/renewable/graduatestudies.html. Please send applications and information requests (email preferred) to:

Don Falk
Associate Professor
School of Natural Resources
325 Biological Sciences East
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
Telephone 520 626-7201
dafalk@u.arizona.edu
https://www.ltrr.arizona.edu/people/5

Ph.D. Opportunity
Université du Québec à Montreal

MODELLING THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATIC CHANGES ON FIRE REGIMES AND VEGETATION IN THE MIXED BOREAL FOREST OF QUEBEC, CANADA

A doctoral graduate student is sought to join an interdisciplinary project that integrates GIScience, forest and fire ecology and landscape management. This project is supported by an NSERC grant and has three objectives. The first part of the project consists in simulating future fire regimes for the region under study by using one or a combination of models called 'dynamic' where vegetation and climate perturbations interact. The goal is to study the effect of projected climatic change on the following fire parameters: i) fire returning intervals, ii) consumed organic matter, iii) changes in forest productivity and iv) ecological impacts. Second, this project aims to determine if future fire frequency will exceed historic levels. Existing paleo-ecological data (stand establishment records, tree rings, fire scars, charcoals in lake sediments) will be used for comparison with the predicted fire activity. The third part of the project consists in the integration of information on fire disturbances in forest management scenarios that take into account the effect of climatic changes on forest productivity. The research will be carried at the Laurentian Forestry Centre of the Canadian Forest Service, Quebec, in collaboration with the Centre for Forest Research at the Université du Québec à Montréal, the Université Laval and the Great Lakes Forestry Centre in Sault-Ste-Marie, Ontario. The Canadian Forest Service (SCF) has for mission to promote the sustainable development of the Canadian forests and a dynamic forest sector for Canada. The SCF exploits six centers through the country, of which five centers of forestry and two forests of research. The Centre for Forest Research (CEF) is a new network created with the amalgamation of two research centres that were unique to Quebec (CRBF and GREFi) and which brings together the expertise of over 46 scientists at eight universities whose primary focus is forestry and forest-related issues. The candidate holds a BA and MA / Masters / DEA in forestry, biology, geography or a related field. Nature of financing: scholarship that is not taxable at Quebec and Canadian taxation. Salary: $ 18000 per year CDN. Interested candidates should send their resume, two letters of recommendation, transcripts and notes as soon as possible to:

Martin P. Girardin
Chercheur scientifique
Service canadien des forêts
Centre de Foresterie des Laurentides
1055, rue du P.E.P.S.
Case postale 10380 Succ Sainte-Foy
Québec, Qc G1V 4C7
Tel: 418.648.5826 Fax: 418.648.5849
E-mail: magirard@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca
Web: http://www.freewebs.com/mpgirardin/

Graduate Student Opportunities for Research in Labrador

Interdisciplinary/Environment Research on Climate Change Impacts on Paleo-treelines in Labrador - Starting in the summer of 2008, the Labrador Highlands Research Group at Memorial University (www.mun.ca/geog/lhrg/) will be accepting graduate student(s) to work on the following two funded M.Sc. projects: 1. Determining the past and forecasting the future radial growth of trees in northern Labrador. 2. Reconstruction of neoglacial environments using submerged subfossil wood in Labrador highlands. If you are interested and are up to the challenge of working in a rigorous field environment, email your CV and unofficial transcript, with your interests to tbell@mun.ca or claroque@mta.ca, at your earliest convenience. These projects are part of an overall International Polar Year project and both postilions will be fully funded at attractive rates.

Dr. Colin P. Laroque
Mount Allison University
Department of Geography and Environment
144 Main Street
Sackville, NB Canada E4L 1A7
(506) 364-2390 Office (506) 364-2625 FAX
http://www.mta.ca/madlab/

PhD scholarship
The University of Auckland, NEW ZEALAND

"High resolution past climate reconstruction/modelling for New Zealand".

An opportunity exists to undertake PhD studies in the School of Geography, Geology, and Environmental Science as part of a research programme entitled “Modelling Palaeoclimate Data to Inform the Future”, funded by the New Zealand Foundation for Research Science & Technology.

The primary aim of the research is to provide New Zealand with improved predictions of future climate by combining multi-proxy palaeoclimate reconstruction and global climate modelling. The palaeoclimate emphasis is on high resolution proxies (tree rings, speleothems, sediment laminations) and the modelling component incorporates both global climate modelling and nested regional modelling.

The PhD candidate we are seeking will work within the above context, but the topic is not prescribed. We are seeking someone to work on palaeoclimate reconstruction (especially tree rings, speleothems, or multi-proxy analysis), but a candidate able to incorporate a modelling component to their work would also be very suitable. A biological or geoscience background is anticipated.

The PhD scholarship available is for three years. It covers fees and carries an annual stipend of NZ$25,000. The position is available immediately.

Interested candidates are invited to contact Anthony Fowler (a.fowler@auckland.ac.nz) in the first instance to obtain further information about the research programme and details about how to apply.

Postdoctoral Position in Dendroclimatology
Université du Québec en Abitibi -Témiscamingue

We are seeking a postdoctoral candidate to work in the following multidisciplinary project:
Impact of climate change on the productivity of mixed boreal forests.

Climate warming is believed to directly affect the growth of trees and the natural disturbance regime and, consequently, the productivity of the boreal forest in Quebec. This research project will attempt to determine the effects of future climate changes on growth of two dominant boreal tree species (black spruce and trembling aspen) of western Quebec and quantify the impacts on annual allowable cut and fire frequency for a forest management unit in north-western Quebec. Dendroclimatic analysis of forest stands along latitudinal and topographic gradients, from hardwood forest in the south to the northern conifer-dominated forest, will allow identification of the major climatic factors determining diameter growth of the two species. The resulting climate - growth relationships will drive a series of models to in order to develop climate sensitive growth and yield tables and, based on climate simulations of the Regional Canadian Climate Model, to estimate future changes in annual allowable cut due to climate change. The results will allow government and industrial forest managers to adapt currently used growth and yield tables and adjust annual allowable cut evaluations in order to improve forest planning and silviculture of these mixed forests.

In addition to participating in this research, the postdoc will be responsible for the Dendroecological Laboratory located in the Lake Duparquet Research and Teaching Forest (http://web2.uqat.ca/ferld/). Responsabilities will include training and supervision of graduate students in dendrochronology. Accommodation at the research station will be available.

Position is for 2 years; initial salary is $40,000 Canadian per year. Send a curriculum vitae, copies of 2 publications, and names of two people who can provide letters of references to:

Yves Bergeron
Chaire industrielle CRSNG-UQAT-UQAM en aménagement forestier durable
Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue
445 boul. de l'Université
Rouyn-Noranda, QC
Canada J9X 5E4

Tel: 819-762-0971-2347
Fax: 819-797-4727
email: yves.bergeron@uqat.ca
http://web2.uqat.ca/cafd/