Graduate Student Position Available: Nutrient Impacts on Seagrass Communities

UPDATE 01.23.08: Position is no longer available!

My colleague, Dr. Jim Fourqurean, and I are seeking an M.S. or Ph.D. applicant through Florida International University Department of Biological Sciences and Southeast Environmental Research Center beginning in the summer of fall of 2008. The graduate student will be involved in a long-term project that explores the relationships between increased freshwater and nutrient supply and seagrass community composition in Florida Bay. The project will also include short-term in situ experiments to evaluate the mechanisms driving nutrient-induced shifts in seagrass epifaunal abundance (e.g., changes in food resources or seagrass refuge value). This is a two-year National Park Service-funded collaborative effort between researchers at Florida International University (Dr. Jim Fourqurean) and Texas A&M University at Galveston (Dr. Anna Armitage).

Applicants should be self-motivated, have completed undergraduate coursework in ecology or marine science, be comfortable with the principles of marine chemistry, and be willing to learn analytical techniques. Preferred qualifications include previous fieldwork experience and scuba diving and small-boating certifications.

Interested individuals should send a brief cover letter describing your background, research interests and career goals, a CV, unofficial transcripts, and if available, GRE scores to Dr. Jim Fourqurean (fourqure@fiu.edu). Review of applications will begin on November 15, 2007, and will continue until the position is filled. Upon reviewing the applicant pool, we will ask select applicant(s) to apply to the graduate program to be considered for admission.