MS/PhD Fellowship: Macroecological modeling of biodiversity in stream ecosystems

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I am seeking a motivated MSc or PhD student interested in modeling patterns of biodiversity in stream ecosystems. The student would join a team of ecologists, remote-sensing scientists, and graduate students working to develop novel statistical methods to map assemblages of fish and benthic macroinvertebrates in Maryland streams and to determine how urbanization has resulted in the loss of stream biodiversity. Within this framework, there are numerous opportunities for a student to extend the broader project objectives to include aspects of stream restoration prioritization, land use change modeling, water quality or stream temperature modeling, analyzing field observations for model validation, or any number of ideas the student is interested in pursuing. A necessary component of the student project involves interfacing with resource managers to ensure project outcomes are of greatest benefit to the conservation of aquatic ecosystems in Maryland.

This is an ideal project for an individual interested in working at the interface of theoretical and applied ecology, while developing the following set of skills:

- statistical modeling generally and species distribution modeling in particular

- spatial analysis, including GIS

- remote sensing

- Computer programming, with an emphasis on the R statistical language

The project is based at the Appalachian Laboratory in Frostburg, Maryland, with myself and Andrew Elmore. Student support has been secured through a fellowship from Maryland Sea Grant. The student will matriculate through the Marine, Estuarine, and Environmental Sciences Program (MEES) at the University of Maryland, College Park.