Job - PhD positions in ecology (Melbourne, Australia)

Job - PhD positions in ecology (Melbourne, Australia)

Two PhD positions in ecology (Melbourne, Australia)

Two Ecology/Conservation Ecology PhD positions are available on the spatial ecology of dynamic communities and the function of invaded landscapes Deadline for applications: 2 April 2013 Two fully-funded PhD stipends are available to students interested in working on the ecology of dynamic communities (such as alien species communities or those responding to climate change) in Associate Professor Melodie McGeoch’s collaborative research group. She has recently joined Monash University in Melbourne, Australia (http://monash.edu/science/about/schools/biological-sciences/staff/mcgeoch/index.html). One of the positions will be co-supervised by Dr Cang Hui (http://academic.sun.ac.za/cib/team/academic/chui.asp) and will involve a field-based research trip to Cape Town, South Africa. The second position will be co-supervised by Dr Heloise Gibb (http://www.latrobe.edu.au/scitecheng/about/staff/profile?uname=HGibb), currently based at LaTrobe University, Melbourne.

The research will involve working with native and alien plant communities, using a combination of existing data, field-based data and modelling. The balance between field work and modelling involved in the research will differ between the two positions. The project design will be developed in collaboration between the student and supervisors. 

The stipend includes all course fees plus ~$25,000 AU per annum tax free (the equivalent of ~$33,000 before tax) with no teaching requirements for 3.5 years (the length of a PhD in Australia). Funding of project costs are covered, including attending at least one conference per year. The project start date can be any time in 2013, although an early start is preferred. 

Interested students should send their CV, a brief statement of their research interests and the contact details of two referees to melodie.mcgeoch@monash.edu. Applicants must preferably have completed at least one year of post-graduate research (including Honours or Masters) and evidence of published research will be an advantage. Preference will be given to those with a botany or entomology major, an ecology and/or soil science background and strong quantitative skills, including experience in multivariate analysis, spatial statistics, GIS and programming in R (or alternative).