Two M.S. Graduate Research Assistantship- Pheasant Ecology and Landscape Genomics

Two M.S. Graduate Research Assistantship Positions in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Genetics

Department of Life, Earth, and Environmental Sciences

West Texas A&M University

Canyon, TX

Project Title: Landscape Ecology and Genomics of Pheasants in the High Plains of Texas.

Start Date: Preferred M.S. enrollment beginning in January 2025. If necessary, I will consider initially hiring students as field technicians for the 2025 field season (January – May), with the expectation of enrollment in the M.S. program starting in Fall 2025 at the latest.

Description: I am seeking TWO highly motivated M.S. students interested in wildlife ecology and management and/or ecology and evolutionary biology and genetics. These positions will be advised by Dr. Joshua Brown in the Department of Life, Earth, and Environmental Sciences at WTAMU. This project will be a highly collaborative effort requiring both graduate assistants working simultaneously and with field technicians on all aspects of field and lab data collection. Students will then focus separately on the analysis of nesting/movement and population genomic data, respectively.

Ring-necked pheasant populations of the Texas Panhandle have been in serious decline over the last 30 – 40 years. Shifts in agricultural practices are a likely culprit leaving pheasants with disjointed and fragmented habitats, fewer cover crops, and less foraging resources. Data collected from this project will be used by Texas Parks and Wildlife to directly address these conservation challenges. Students will be tasked with integrating information from nesting ecology, movement patterns, and conservation genetics. Specifically, we will deploy GPS transmitters to collect movement data for identifying nesting sites and landscape-level movement corridors. In conjunction, a comprehensive genetic dataset will be used to model how genetic diversity is structured across the landscape in relation to local habitat and environmental conditions.

Prospective students should be comfortable working alone or in teams and will be expected to mentor research technicians and undergraduate volunteers throughout the project. Students should also expect to regularly interact with both private landowners and federal/state biologists during field work. Responsibilities include deploying and monitoring traps, the deployment of GPS transmitters, the collection of habitat/vegetation characteristics, and all subsequent analyses.

Qualifications: B.S. in wildlife biology, ecology and evolutionary biology, or a related field is required. A capacity to remain organized and maintain large datasets will be required. Experience handling wild birds in a research setting as well as working with R coding language is preferred but not required; given the nature of the analyses to be conducted throughout this project, ideal candidates must be eager to learn statistical modelling and R coding. For the position focused on landscape genetics, previous lab experience will be a plus. A drivers license will also be required.

Compensation: This is a fully funded graduate research assistant position (i.e., no teaching) that comes with a stipend of $23,000 per year for 2.5 years. WTAMU graduate assistants also qualify for a partial tuition waiver and medical insurance coverage.

How to Apply: Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until both positions are filled. In a single PDF document, provide a letter of interest, a CV or resume, a copy of unofficial transcripts, and contact information for three professional references. Applications should be sent to Dr. Joshua Brown at jbrown@wtamu.edu and include “PHEASANT APPLICATION” in the subject line.