The Morton Arboretum, in partnership with the Atlanta Botanical Garden, the California Botanic Garden, and San Diego Botanic Garden have just launched the NSF-funded Rare Plant RaMP Program, which is a one year, full time, paid position for post-baccalaureate scholars to gain research and professional experience. The program is intended for individuals who were not able to participate extensively in research during their undergraduate degree program. See the website and application page for eligibility information and how students can apply. Program dates are August 2023 – July 2024. Application Deadline: Mar. 16, 2023
This specific Rare Plant RaMP program will be dispersed across the four participating botanic gardens. Mentees in this geographically distributed, research-focused program will have direct guidance from a mentor and co-mentors as they pursue their research in the area of rare plant science and conservation. This RaMP will empower mentees to perform both independent and collaborative research, and strengthen their ability to communicate science to other researchers, to policymakers, and to the general public. Please see below for projects hosted at the Morton Arboretum
We encourage applications from individuals from demographics historically excluded from STEM, first generation scholars, and those from under-resourced institutions who are interested in gaining research and professional development experience in botany, plant science, or conservation.
Potential applicants are welcome to contact us with inquiries.
Silvia Alvarez Clare <salvarezclare@mortonarb.org>, Sean Hoban <shoban@mortonarb.org>
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PROJECT TOPICS HOSTED AT THE MORTON ARBORETUM:
#1 Botanic gardens maintaining genetic diversity and helping species adaptation.
Mentor: Dr. Sean Hoban, Tree Conservation Biologist at The Morton ArboretumBotanic gardens seek to conserve rare and threatened plants via living collections, similar to zoos, and we compile information to help manage species in the wild. Our team develops knowledge using the fields of genetics, biogeography, population biology and computational biology. Mentee projects could include (A) use simulations and/or genomic data to determine how to allocate seed sampling effort for species in different categories of rarity and for species with different pollination traits, (B) use genomics to document hybridization among species in botanic gardens, especially for long-lived trees, to understand and to provide guidance on use of such seed for restoration, (C) assess effective population sizes over time of common and rare species which will provide knowledge on how species have changed in commonness and how species respond to climate change. Examples of our work include Hoban and Strand 2015, Hoban et al 2012, Rosenberger et al 2021, and Schumacher et al 2022. Learn more at hobanlab.com.#2 Conservation-based research to protect, manage and recover threatened oak species
Mentor: Dr. Silvia Alvarez-Clare, Director of Global Tree Conservation at The Morton Arboretum.The Global Tree Conservation team at the Morton Arboretum focuses on preventing extinction of threatened tree species with particular focus on oak ecosystems (genus Quercus). We work with local partners to conduct demographic studies, population surveys, ecological field experiments, seedling propagation trials, and spatial distribution models that inform needed conservation actions (e.g., ecological niche models, potential distribution models). Participants will collaborate with the GTCP team by developing their research project within the context of one of our existing projects:(1) Incorporating threatened and rare oaks in restoration plantings in California, (2) Creating conservation groves for threatened oaks in Southeastern US, (3) Safeguarding threatened oak ecosystems in Mesoamerican cloud forests. Although the participant should be based at Morton, he/she will travel to field locations to gather data and work with in situ partners. In addition to research, the student will learn about how to prioritize species for conservation action, conservation action planning, and communicating science to a broad audience.
