“The objective is to teach the student to see the land, to understand what he sees, and enjoy what he understands.  I say land rather than wildlife, because wildlife cannot be understood without understanding the landscape as a whole.  Such teaching could well be land ecology rather than wildlife, and could serve very broad educational purposes.  Perhaps the most important of these purposes is to teach the student how to put the sciences together in order to use them.  All the sciences and arts are taught as if they were separate.  They are separate only in the classroom.  Step out on the campus and they are immediately fused.  Land ecology is putting the sciences and arts together for the purpose of understanding our environment.”  Aldo Leopold

Description:  A Ph.D. Assistantship is available in the School of Renewable Natural Resources at Louisiana State University for a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-funded project to assess the effects of invasive herbivore rodent, nutria (Myocastor coypus) on vegetation and ecosystem processes in natural wetlands and restoration sites in coastal Louisiana.  Results of the study will be used to guide management priorities, decisions, and efforts for effective nutria control.  The student will work closely with a collaborative team including biologists and managers with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  The student will be based at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, but field work will occur throughout Louisiana’s coastal marshes.  Field activities will include surveying using Real Time Kinematic GPS, collecting and processing vegetation and soil cores, establishing experimental field plots, measuring sedimentation and accretion rates, and plant structure and morphology.  Based on the student’s skills and interest, further tasks may include GIS analysis.  Students interested in animal and plant ecology of coastal wetlands and invasive species would be most successful.  For additional information see https://www.lsu.edu/agriculture/rnr/people/profiles/nyman.php and https://faculty.lsu.edu/quirklab/.

Qualifications:  Applicants must have a degree in ecology, geology, environmental science, or a closely related field.  MS graduates with a focus on wildlife habitat are preferred.  Experience in field data collection and analysis with spatial and statistical software (e.g., ArcGIS, SAS, R) is required.  Experience in wetlands and operating boats is desired.  Physically strenuous activity relative to field work in remote coastal wetlands is required.  Successful applicants will be self-motivated and able to work well in teams.  

Application:  Please send statement of interest (including career goals), CV, copies of transcripts and GRE scores (optional), and contact information for three references to jnyman@lsu.edu and tquirk@lsu.edu.  

Anticipated start date:  Between January and August, 2025

Salary: $36,000/yr plus tuition waiver