Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Undergraduate Research Assistant Position for Spring 2018

Finding food in a changing ocean: Estimating and comparing diets of New Zealand’s seabirds
Undergraduate Research Assistant: Spring 2018

We are looking for an undergraduate student interested in pursuing an independent, SEF-funded research project to join the Jones Lab and examine the diet of some of New Zealand’s seabirds. Global climate change has led to increased oceanic temperatures which will negatively impact marine ecosystems. Shifts in oceanic conditions alter the productivity of marine phytoplankton and can lead to trophic mismatches, which is when there is a scarcity of prey during a critical and energetically demanding life-history stage (e.g. breeding). Seabirds are often top predators in marine systems and are excellent indicators of marine health. Their ability to successfully breed each year is highly dependent on the productivity of waters surrounding their nesting colonies. For breeding seabirds, trophic mismatching may result in an inability to acquire sufficient prey for individual maintenance and successful reproduction, as has been observed recently in the North Pacific Ocean. Given that nearly one-third of seabird species are threatened with extinction, it is critical to assess the changes that are occurring in marine food webs so that mitigation strategies can be developed. New Zealand is the world’s seabird biodiversity hotspot and provides ample opportunity to assess the potential impacts to breeding seabirds posed by changes in prey species richness and abundance.

The student will work with PhD student Christy N. Wails to explore this topic. The student will process stable isotope samples, assist in analyzing results, present findings, and will have the opportunity to participate in manuscript preparation. Compensation is available to support the student over a 12-week period.

Competitive applicants will be confident writers, comfortable using Excel, and possess a basic understanding of statistics.  A 3.0 or above GPA is required.

To apply, please send a cover letter, resume highlighting relevant coursework and any research experience, a short writing sample, and contact information for one reference in a single PDF to Christy N. Wails (wailscn@gmail.com) by 31 December 2017. Please include “NZ seabird diet application” as the subject.