Graduate study in Behavioural Ecology (animal & human studies)
Graduate Student (MSc/PhD) and Postdoctoral Opportunities in Animal and Human Behavioural Ecology in the Lingle Lab in the Department of Biology at the University of Winnipeg
In our lab (www.linglelab.org), we use interactions between predator and prey to gain insight into population ecology, social behaviour and, increasingly, mechanisms underlying social vocal communication and species interactions. For the latter topic, we conduct fieldwork with mammals – especially deer – and lab studies with humans to investigate acoustic and (in the upcoming future) neurochemical mechanisms involved in infant cries and caregiver responses across species and the relationship of infant cries to vocal communication taking place in different contexts. Field studies probe adaptive explanations as well as mechanisms to understand the behaviour and communication of animals in their natural habitats.
Opportunities for research on other topics related to predator-prey interactions and aspects of species relationships still exist.
Ideally I would find one graduate student to do a field study (most projects are planned with deer and coyotes at our main field site on the grasslands of southern Alberta; one planned for work with subspecies of deer on the west coast) and another student to work with humans. I am receptive to having a student with a background in animal behaviour work with humans or vice versa. A project will be selected or planned that is appropriate to the interests and background of the strongest candidates.
There are research opportunities for Postdoctoral Fellows, but these will depend on funding you bring or that I may obtain. If interested, please contact me to discuss this.
Potential MSc students should have an Honours degree or equivalent, a strong academic record, and evidence of being able to work independently and being highly motivated and enthusiastic to pursue research in this field. PhD candidates must have a MSc or be willing to pursue the MSc degree first. Fully-funded MSc positions are potentially available to international students and Canadians through Graduate Teaching Assistantships and other scholarships. PhD students would be enrolled at a different university where I supervise them as an Adjunct. Candidates having external funding such as NSERC PGS are preferred.
*Why Winnipeg? *Despite its reputation for a wintry clime, Winnipeg is considered by many residents to be “Canada’s best-kept secret”. This mid-sized city is livable and culturally diverse in terms of its people and amenities (outstanding music – both contemporary and classical, other arts, food and myriad winter and summer festivals). Opportunities for enjoying the natural landscape abound with lakes and forests nearby, prairie grasslands to the west and tundra to the north. The University of Winnipeg is a small, rapidly growing university in the heart of downtown and the Department of Biology is situated in the brand new science facility, Richardson College for the Environment.
Interested persons are encouraged to contact Susan Lingle:
lingle.uw@gmail.com
to express interest or for more information. Please include a brief description of your research interests and relevant background, reasons for pursuing graduate study, an unofficial transcript and a CV. I will review material as it arrives and may contact you for an interview. Please contact me before January 2014 and note that official applications for Graduate Studies in Bioscience at the University, are due of 1 February 2014 for entrance in September 2014.
Added 2013-11-26