Jobs & Scholarships

Research opportunities: Several openings for M.S. and Ph.D. students to conduct fisheries ecology research in numerous aquatic systems, using field, laboratory, experimental, and modeling approaches. General research topics include:

1) understanding stock structure of Lake Erie walleye and yellow perch, using a variety of techniques, including otolith microchemistry and genetics (co-advisers: Elizabeth Marschall and Stuart Ludsin;

2) understanding how physical processes (e.g., weather, water circulation) influence recruitment dynamics of Lake Erie walleye (co-advisers: Stuart Ludsin and Elizabeth Marschall );

3) simulating the interactive effects of migration barriers, climate change, and movement behavior on riverine fish populations (adviser: Elizabeth Marschall);

4) exploring optimal energy allocation, parental effort allocation, and life-history traits in a changing environment (adviser: Elizabeth Marschall);

5) conducting population modeling of spatially structured human-harvested populations of native fish (adviser: Elizabeth Marschall);

6) understanding how hypoxia has been influencing fish behavior, population and fishery dynamics, and community structure in Lake Erie, Chesapeake Bay, and the northern Gulf of Mexico (adviser: Stuart Ludsin); and

7) exploring the effects of watershed inputs (sediments, nutrients) on Lake Erie yellow perch recruitment (adviser: Stuart Ludsin).

Successful candidates would join a dynamic, interactive group of graduate students, post-docs, visiting scholars, and faculty at The Ohio State University’s Aquatic Ecology Laboratory (AEL) within the Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology (EEOB). Students would have the opportunity to work with Drs. Elizabeth Marschall (http://ael.osu.edu/ael-elizabethmar.html), Stuart Ludsin ( http://eeob.osu.edu/~eeob/drupal//?q=userpages/176/), Roy Stein (http://ael.osu.edu/ael-roystein.html), & Jim Bauer (http://www.vims.edu/people/bauer_je/index.php), our newest AEL member.

Qualifications: A successful applicant will be creative, motivated, and capable of working well both independently and cooperatively. A degree in biology, ecology, aquatic sciences, or a related field is required. Students must have strong writing and quantitative skills.

Salary: ~$2,050/month with some health benefits; full support will exist for the entire degree program.

Start date: Summer or fall 2010.

How to apply: Interested students should send a cover letter, curriculum vitae, names/contact information for three references, and unofficial transcripts and GRE scores to Dr. Marschall and/or Dr. Ludsin at The Ohio State University, Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, 1314 Kinnear Road, 227 Research Center, Columbus, OH 43212-1156. Electronic or faxed submissions also are welcome (see below for contact information). In the cover letter, please briefly: describe your background; indicate which research areas interest you most (if a preference exists); state whether you are interested in pursuing a M.S. or Ph.D.; and identify when you would prefer to start (summer or fall 2010).

Contact: For additional information, visit http://www.ael.osu.edu/ or contact Elizabeth Marschall (marschall.2@osu.edu), Stuart Ludsin (ludsin.1@osu.edu), Roy Stein (stein.4@osu.edu), or Jim Bauer (bauer.362@osu.edu). Fax: 614-292-0181.

We are currently reviewing applications and will continue to do so until suitable applicants are found.