Ms Position – Drivers Of Dryland Plant Community

MS Position – Drivers of Dryland Plant Community Change

The Palmquist Lab at Marshall University is recruiting for an NSF-funded MS position focused on evaluating the impacts of multiple global change drivers on dryland plant communities. The research focuses on quantifying vegetation dynamics over space and time, identifying how the relative importance of ecological processes structuring plant communities changes with spatial and temporal scale, and understanding how plant-community pattern and process will be altered by global environmental change.

The work addresses ecological questions at large spatial scales to inform landscape conservation and uses field data, large observational datasets, and simulation modeling in temperate shrublands, wetlands, woodlands, and forests. More information is available epalmquist.org.

The successful candidate will explore the interacting effects of climate change, wildfire, and livestock grazing intensity on big sagebrush plant communities throughout their spatial extent in the western United States. These water-limited ecosystems are undergoing rapid environmental change due to multiple stressors, including climate change, increasing wildfire activity, and species invasions, and represent some of the most threatened systems in North America.

The project is supported by a five-year NSF grant and will leverage an individual-based plant simulation model to quantify the impacts of multiple global change drivers on big sagebrush plant communities under future conditions. Potential focal projects include examining the role of competition in altering plant functional-type responses to global change drivers and the implications for shrub-grass coexistence, as well as evaluating livestock grazing as a tool to prevent the spread of invasive species and decrease wildfire risk under a future climate.

The project will provide collaborative opportunities with ecologists at Yale University and scientists and managers from the BLM, USGS, USFWS, USFS, and USDA ARS.

• Background and relevant coursework in ecology and statistics.
• Knowledge and experience in sagebrush ecosystems of the western United States.
• Strong communication and quantitative skills.
• Experience in ecological modeling and computer programming is highly desirable.
• Interest in learning modeling is required.

The successful candidate will conduct high-quality research, serve as a teaching assistant within the Department of Biological Sciences for one year, present research at regional and national scientific meetings, and publish in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

The position is available starting August 2027. Funding will consist of a combination of research and teaching assistantships for two years: one year of teaching assistantship and one year of research assistantship. A 12-month stipend of $24,000 and a full tuition waiver will be provided. The student is responsible for university fees and health insurance.