FYI Sound Conservancy Grants

This grant program supports marine education and research in the region that stretches from Long Island Sound to Nantucket Sound.  Deadline for applications is March 15. 

http://www.qlf.org/programs/sounds.html

Research Assistant Needed (learn more)

The Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut is
seeking a Research Assistant II, 50% time to work in the Jockusch lab. In this position, time will
be devoted to assisting and providing research support for an on-going project investigating the
genetics and development of antenna structure in Tribolium flour beetles. Responsibilities
include microinjection, maintenance of beetle stocks, dissection and fixation of embryos and
tissue, and laboratory maintenance, as well as administrative duties as required.

Minimum Acceptable Qualifications and Skills:

• BS with 2-3 years of relevant experience, or MS in the biological sciences (Salary is commensurate with experience)

Desirable Qualifications and Skills:

• Previous laboratory experience in molecular biology
• Experience in microinjection a plus
• Good interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills
• Attention to detail

Review of applications will begin on March 17, 2006 and continue until the position is filled.
Please send a cover letter, resume, and contact information for three references to:

Elizabeth Jockusch
Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
75 N Eagleville Rd, Unit 3043
Storrs, CT 06269-3043
860-486-4452 (phone)
860-486-6364 (fax)
elizabeth.jockusch@uconn.edu

We encourage applications from under-represented groups including minorities, women, and
people with disabilities.

Assist in hydroid allorecognition research program.  

You will be collecting wild animals at the CT shore, then maintaining those 
animals while setting up fusion tests between them and our inbred lines.  The job  will also include feedings and water changes for our saltwater tank room,  checking, cleaning, and possibly breeding animals, and basic lab tasks such as  filtering water, washing dishes, etc.

Requirements:  An interest in animals and scientific study.  Must be  absolutely meticulous about details, both for keeping the animals alive and  healthy and for taking part in the research.  You will need to learn tasks  quickly, follow directions carefully, and organize your work efficiently. This job will involve a large amount of microscope work, so you 
should be comfortable working at one or be willing to acquire those skills.  
You will be manipulating small delicate animals, as well as taking notes on their condition, so fine motor skills and an observant eye will be essential.

Hours:  Full-time, 30-40 hours per week.  Some weekend time will be 
required.

Time period:  Summer

Number of openings: 3

Interested parties should e-mail: christina.glastris@yale.edu

WISAY / Pfizer Mentoring Program for female graduate students or post-docs at Yale. 

WISAY has partnered with Pfizer in establishing a Mentoring Program, which pairs female graduate students or post-docs with employees of Pfizer.  The goal of the program is to forge mentoring relationships with Pfizer professionals (in many fields not just Science but in Technology, Finance, Procurement, Operations, HR, or Informatics).  Matching of the mentor is based on areas of interest, educational goals, topics you wish to discuss, and what you hope to gain from the mentoring experience.  Since many Pfizer employees have vast experiences in academia, small pharma, and biotechnology companies this opportunity is beneficial to all, not just those who want to work for a large pharmaceutical company. 

E-mail: WLN_Mentors@pfizer.com with name, area of study, and educational level.

John Thouron Prize for Summer Study at Pembroke College, Cambridge University.

The Thouron prize is new, in this form, for summer 2006, and will bring a select group of Yale, Harvard and Penn students to Cambridge for an 8-week summer study term. The Thouron Prize has been in existence on the Penn campus for many years, but as a graduate exchange program. This year, the Thouron family decided to start the summer program and bring in Yale and Harvard students. We are excited to be a part of this program, and hope to send a fine group of Yalies to Cambridge for the summer. Click here for information on the prize.

Green Corps Environmental Leadership National Fellowship

Whether it’s with Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, MoveOn.org, or the Alaska Coalition, behind the top environmental organization’s field campaigns, you’ll find a Green Corps organizer. We give one-year fellowships to the top student leaders to receive in-depth training and experience running urgent campaigns. Early Application Deadline:  Friday, January 13^th, 2006

Open house for the 12-month MPA Program in Environmental Science and Policy at Columbia University

This pioneering graduate program in Environmental Science and Policy is taught over 12 months at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in the City of New York. Sponsored by the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and The Earth Institute at Columbia University the program combines the strength of the University's hands-on approach to teaching public policy and administration with innovative thinking about the environment. Information about the program and the application can be found online at www.columbia.edu/cu/mpaenvironment

Research Opportunity: Evolutionary Ecology – Planktivorous fish species can have strong impacts on zooplankton communities in lakes. In the Post lab (EEB) we are investigating the impact of the planktivorous alewife on zooplankton communities in Connecticut lakes. An interesting aspect of this study system is that alewives occur in anadromous (migratory) and landlocked (resident) forms. We have an opportunity for an undergraduate or an FES Master’s student to investigate the impact of fish predation on zooplankton ecology and evolution. This project couples ecology and evolution in a new and exciting way. If interested, please contact either david.post@yale.edu or eric.palkovacs@yale.edu.

Research Opportunity: Population Genetics – In the Caccone lab (EEB, YIBS), we are developing molecular markers to help us understand the evolutionary origin of the landlocked alewife life history. We have an opportunity for an experienced undergraduate or FES Master’s student with an interest in molecular approaches to ecology, evolution, and conservation to assist with this project. A preferred student would be someone who has either taken EEB 315La – Lab in Molecular Systematics – or who has some other experience with molecular genetic techniques such as DNA extractions, PCR, and DNA sequencing. This is a great opportunity to gain expertise in lab techniques and methods of analysis at the interface of molecular phylogenetics, population genetics, and ecology. If interested, please contact either adalgisa.caccone@yale.edu or eric.palkovacs@yale.edu.

Job available from March 18 to April 13, 2006 to prepare mice for a laboratory course. Work will involve about 2-3 hours per day (not every day). Pay is $15 per hour. Job can be shared by two people. Please contact Mary Klein (mary.klein@yale.edu) at 432-9861 for more information.

Scholarships and Stipends Available for Students pursuing degrees in Aquatic Plant Management

Northeast Aquatic Plant Management Society offering scholarship monies
Graduate scholarships can range up to $2500 per year for 2-3 years (maximum), depending on the degree pursued. 

Undergraduate students may interested in participating in an internship in Aquatic Plant Management can be eligible for a stipend to pay for salary and/or related expenses during the internship.

DETAILS AT NEAPMS website  www.neapms.org; or contact Amy Smagula at 603-271-2248 or asmagula@des.state.nh.us or click here for pdf

The Role of Multiple Infections in the Ecology and Evolution of East African Trypanosomoses

African trypanosomoses are vector-borne diseases caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Trypanosoma and transmitted by biting flies of the genus Glossina (tsetse flies). Trypanosomoses are one of the major factors shaping the African continent. Human sleeping sickness presently causes 100,000 deaths per year and is on the rise. Even more importantly, Nagana, a wildlife and cattle disease, prevents cattle farming and the use of work animals over huge areas of sub-Saharan Africa and thus profoundly influences the socio-economic situation of the entire continent. My research investigates the role of multiple infections in the dynamics of East African trypanosomes. I am experimentally testing how multiple strains interact in their host and how multiple infections affect parasite virulence by infecting mice with combinations of different trypanosome strains which are made visually distinguishable by different fluorescent markers introduced into their genomes. Theory predicts that competition among different parasites in one host animal will lead to increased virulence, but empirical support for this prediction is scarce. I am also developing microsatellites that allow identification of parasite strains in tsetse fly salivary glands and natural hosts and will allow to determine natural rates of multiple infection. Lab based research opportunities for undergraduate students are available on several aspects of this project.

Lab: Steve Stearns (EEB)

Detailed description: click here

contact: oliver.balmer@yale.edu

Coral bleaching and endosymbiont dynamics in Caribbean coral reefs

Coral bleaching is a loss of color in corals commonly caused by the loss of their endosymbiotic dinoflagellates (“zooxanthellae”). The aim of this project is to experimentally test whether coral bleaching is adaptive from the corals point of view as a recent hypothesis states. We have tagged around 200 coral colonies in Bocas del Toro, Panama. We have taken tissue samples of all colonies and then subjected a portion of them to various treatments involving artificial bleaching and movement to other light regimes. One year after the treatment we have collected tissue samples again to compare the endosymbiont genotypes they contain. We are now finalizing the lab analyses (genotyping of the endosymbionts before and one year after the experimental treatment) and will then analyze the data. The results will give insights into the dynamics of coral-zooxanthella symbiosis and into possible effects of increased coral bleaching events for our coral reefs. Research opportunities for undergraduates are available in this project, involving the genotyping of endosymbionts. This will be the most interesting part of the project as we will soon be ready to analyze the acquired data.

Lab: Steve Stearns (EEB)

Detailed description: click here

contact: oliver.balmer@yale.edu

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking applications

URL: http://es.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2004/2004early_indicators.html

Open Date: 10/29/2004 - Close Date: 02/23/2005

Summary: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its
Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is seeking applications proposing
early indicators of environmentally induced disease. EPA is specifically
interested in research that will develop methods and tools that can be used as
indicators or predictors of environmentally induced effect or disease. These
methods and tools should be useful in longitudinal molecular epidemiology
studies such as the National Children's Study (NCS).

Conservation genetics of the Galápagos tortoise

Genetics of the Invasive Monk Parakeet

The prestigious Journal of Young Investigators (www.jyi.org) is
recruiting staff and manuscript submissions. Applicants must be
undergraduate students with an interest in science, broadly
defined.

Available Board of Directors and Staff Positions

Chief Technical Officer
Director of Human Resources
Director of Career Forum
Public Relations Officers
Financial Officers
Technical Officers
Copy Editors
Story Editor

Application instructions and position descriptions can be found at
http://www.jyi.org/aboutJYI/helpWanted.html. For best consideration,
application materials should be received by October 31, 2004. JYI is
also seeking original research manuscripts and review articles for
publication in its monthly online journal. For more information on
submissions, please visit http://www.jyi.org/submissions/index.html

JYI, Inc. has been featured in The New York Times, Science, Nature,
and The Chronicle of Higher Education for providing innovative
science and journalism experiences to undergraduates since 1997. The
National Science Foundation, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Science
Magazine, and many others have helped to support JYI's international,
peer-reviewed science journal.

For more information, please e-mail JYI's Managing Editor, Ashish
Patel, at ME@jyi.org.

New EPA Fellowship Opportunities

STAR Fellowships

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to
Achieve Results (STAR) program, is offering Graduate Fellowships for
masters and doctoral level students in environmentally related fields of
study. The deadline for receipt of pre-applications is November 23, 2004.
Subject to availability of funding, the Agency plans to award
approximately 100 new fellowships by July 21, 2005. Masters level students
may receive support for a maximum of two years. Doctoral students may be
supported for a maximum of three years with funding available, under
certain circumstances, over a period of four years. The fellowship program
provides up to $37,000 per year of support.

Learn more...

GRO Graduate Fellowships

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Greater
Research Opportunities (GRO) program, is offering Graduate Fellowships for
masters and doctoral level students in environmentally related fields of
study. The deadline for receipt of pre-applications is November 23, 2004.
Subject to availability of funding, the Agency plans to award
approximately 20 new fellowships by July 21, 2005. Masters level students
may receive support for a maximum of two years. Doctoral students may be
supported for a maximum of three years with funding available, under
certain circumstances, over a period of four years. The fellowship program
provides up to $37,000 per year of support.

Learn more...

GRO Undergraduate Fellowships

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is offering Greater
Research Opportunities Undergraduate Fellowships for bachelor level
students in environmentally related fields of study. The deadline for
receipt of pre-applications is November 23, 2004. Subject to availability
of funding, the Agency plans to award approximately 15 new fellowships by
July 21, 2005. Eligible students will receive support for their junior and
senior years of undergraduate study and for an internship at an EPA
facility during the summer between their junior and senior years. The
fellowship provides up to $17,000 per year of academic support and up to
$7,500 of internship support for the three-month summer period.

Learn more...

Hox Proteins and the Evolution of Vertebrates - Project: Develop an Expression System for Protein Structure Determination Learn more...

Investigating the Ecological Impacts of Anadromous Alewife Restoration in Connecticut

The removal of dams and the construction of fish passages are becoming popular means of river restoration in the United Sates. One primary goal of many such restoration projects is the re-establishment of anadromous (migratory) fish runs to large areas of important spawning habitat. The restoration of anadromous alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) runs via dam removal and fish ladder construction means that alewives will again have access to inland waters from which they were excluded and that migratory and landlocked alewife populations will be brought into contact with each other. Despite the potential importance of anadromous alewife restoration for inland and oceanic food web dynamics and for inland water quality, the ecological and evolutionary implications of restoration efforts are largely unknown. This study focuses on the ecological implications of restoring anadromous alewife runs to lakes that have been without alewives due to downstream dams and the ecological and evolutionary implications of restoring anadromous alewives to lakes that currently contain landlocked populations. The goals of this research are 1) to use molecular genetic markers to investigate the evolutionary origin of landlocked alewife populations, 2) to conduct a comparative study examining the morphological and life history changes that have accompanied the shift from an anadromous to an entirely freshwater lifestyle, and 3) to conduct a series of mesocosm experiments to investigate the ecological consequences of phenotypic changes in landlocked versus anadromous young-of-the-year alewives. Comparative and experimental data will be collected on a series of coastal lake-stream systems in southern Connecticut. Research opportunities for undergraduate students are available on all aspects of this project, including lab and field work. Summer salary for field assistance a possibility. Students interested in working on this study system for Senior Projects welcome.

Lab: David Post (EEB)

Contact: eric.palkovacs@yale.edu

Potential genetic consequences of a recent bottleneck in the Amur Tiger of the Russian Far East: implications for interactive in situ and ex situ conservation management

Tigers (Panthera tigris) are endangered throughout their range, with worldwide estimates of less than 8,000 individuals remaining in the wild (Jackson 1993). The Amur tiger, P. t. altaica, which represents the northernmost population of this species, formerly occurred across northeastern China (former Manchuria), the Korean peninsula, and the southernmost regions of the Russian Far East (RFE). Since the 1800s, range contraction due to human population growth, habitat loss, and direct human-caused mortality has restricted the range of this population almost entirely to the RFE (Miquelle & Pikunov 2003). During the first half of the 20th century, unrestrained hunting, civil strife, and intensive capture of cubs for the world's zoo populations further led to a dramatic decrease in the size of the Russian population (Kucherenko 2001). By 1941, only 20-30 Amur tigers may have persisted throughout the RFE (Kaplanov 1948). In response to this severe decline, harvesting of tigers was outlawed in 1947, and collection of cubs for the world's zoos was sharply curtailed by 1957. Despite a slow but apparently steady growth in numbers since the protective legislation was passed (Kucherenko 2001), P. t. altaica remain restricted to three subpopulations in the RFE (Heptner & Slukskii 1972). A recent study revealed extremely low levels of haplotype diversity in the mitochondrial DNA control region using DNA extracted from non-invasively sampled fecal material, collected throughout the entire range of P. t. altaica in the RFE (Russello et al., in press). Comparison of these results with those of Cracraft et al. (1998) further suggests that more genetic variation may reside in the large North American captive population relative to what was found in the wild. These results present several additional areas of conservation genetics research involving both the wild and captive population of the Amur Tiger.   A range of research opportunities exist for undergraduates interested in using molecular genetic tools to elucidate population level patterns and processes relevant to the in situ and ex situ conservation of the Amur Tiger.  

Lab: Gisella Caccone (EEB)    Contact: michael.russello@yale.edu