Ecology and Sociobiology of a Wolf-Ungulate Predator-Prey Game

Ecology and Sociobiology of a Wolf-Ungulate Predator-Prey Game

Start Date: September 2015 (flexibility exists for exceptional candidates)
We have a fully funded PhD position for a student interested studying
the spatial ecology and sociobiology of predator-prey dynamics with
links to population and disease ecology in a wolf-ungulate community.

System: Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP) in Manitoba is among the
best-studied large mammal communities in Canada. Peer-reviewed research
has been produced from the RMNP system for the last 80 years: from Green
(1933) and Banfield (1949) to Paquet (1990s) and our recent work. RMNP
is a rich system within which to simultaneously ask fundamental and
applied ecological and evolutionary questions.  Over the coming years
and primarily using GPS collars, this project will see all wolf packs
and >80% of the elk monitored in one of RMNP��s elk subpopulations,
creating a near-perfect spatial and temporal picture of predatory-prey
interactions between wolves and their primary prey. Furthermore, the
successful applicant will have access to our considerable collection
of historical individual- and population-level data on space use and
population densities of elk, moose, white-tailed deer and wolves (see our
papers for examples). As a result, this project will provide excellent
opportunities for both academic and professional advancement. Because
it is a PhD-level project, the successful applicant will be expected
to develop her or his own ideas and research plan in collaboration with
the research team.

In the Wildlife Evolutionary Ecology Lab we feel strongly that novel
biological ideas are derived from interacting directly with our study
species and system, and the successful applicant will be expected
to spend considerable amounts of time in the field, supported by an
excellent team of biologists at RMNP. The successful applicant will be
required to actively investigate kill- and den-sites and to fly telemetry,
while simultaneously working with existing data. At the PhD level, this
will require an exceptional applicant who can both be in the field and
continue to actively analyze and write throughout their program.

Qualifications: In addition to a MSc that complements this research,
applicants should have five main qualities: (1) a passion for ecological
and evolutionary theory; (2) an aptitude for and commitment to research
in the field �V in all seasons; (3) well-developed quantitative skills
in GIS, statistical programing in R, and experience or an interest in
modeling; (4) a track-record of publishing their research in reputable
peer-reviewed journals; (5) and foremost, evidence of collegiality.

Team: This research is part of a larger collaborative program studying
predatory-prey dynamics in wolf-ungulate systems in southern Manitoba. As
a result the successful applicant will be a part of a research team that
includes Parks Canada biologists, Manitoba Fish and Wildlife ecologists,
a MSc student in RMNP (start date May 2016), and another PhD student
studying wolf-ungulate dynamics in eastern MB. This collaborative
opportunity will permit the right applicant to participate in projects
and publications in addition to their own core research.

Wildlife Evolutionary Ecology Lab (http://ericvanderwal.weebly.com/):
We are a question-driven research group; one of a number of productive
and dynamic research groups in ecology, evolution, and animal behavior
at MUN. We bridge fundamental and applied questions in evolutionary,
behavioral, population, and wildlife ecology, particularly with social
ungulates. RMNP has been one of our keystone and must productive
research systems and this new program aims to further advance our work
on density-dependent resource and space use, social and group dynamics of
ungulates now with a finer-scale understanding of the predatory-prey game.

To apply please send a letter of interest, CV, and transcripts
(unofficial) to eric.vanderwal@mun.ca. Although the position is
fully funded, students will be encouraged to compete for internal and
external funding; higher GPAs and a history of publications improves
competitiveness. The competition will remain open until the position
is filled.

~Eric

Eric Vander Wal | Assistant Professor
Department of Biology, 
Memorial University of Newfoundland

Eric Vander Wal