PhD Student or Post-Doctoral Scholar Agent Modeling of Least Bell’s Vireo Populations

PhD Student or Post-Doctoral Scholar Agent Based Modeling of Least Bell’s Vireo Populations

Title:

Implementation of a complex agent-based model to address the effects of interacting ecological stressors and alternative management strategies on an endangered species

Institution:
Purdue University, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Location:

Purdue University West Lafayette, IN.

Job Category:
Post-Doctoral Scholar or PhD Student

Salary:
Commensurate with standards for either a post‑doctoral scholar or a PhD student in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University. The position includes benefits typical for whichever position a candidate is hired for at Purdue University.

Duration of Appointment: A post‑doctoral scholar will be hired for a minimum of one year and a PhD student for a minimum of three years. The duration of either position is contingent upon completion of ongoing project goals to provide additional funding through 2027.

Start Date:

As Soon As Possible for a post‑doctoral scholar or January of 2024 for a PhD student.

Project

Description:

The federally endangered Least Bell’s Vireo (LBVI, Vireo bellii pusillus) nests in narrow riparian areas surrounded by the heavily urbanized matrix of Southern California. Several of the largest remaining patches of LBVI nesting habitat occur on US Department of Defense (DoD) military installations and in US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) flood control basins. Expenses for ESA compliance related to LBVI are among the highest of all listed bird species, with widespread operational and financial impacts on federal action agencies and military installations.

A complex array of threats and stressors interact to threaten LBVI populations, including groundwater extraction, loss of streamflow inputs due to water recycling programs, changing flood and fire regimes, nest parasitism by brown‑headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater), and negative impacts to riparian vegetation from invasive non‑native plants and insects. One challenge in developing management strategies for recovery is understanding how different stressors may interact, particularly with emerging threats like new invasive species or major changes in disturbance regimes due to climate change.

A ~25‑minute video describing this project in more detail can be viewed at this link (). The goal of this multi‑disciplinary, collaborative research project is to develop an individual/agent‑based modeling tool that integrates sub‑models reflecting different stressors and synthesizes those sub‑models to understand the relative effectiveness of a range of PI‑ and stakeholder‑generated management scenarios.

Position Description/Project Role:
The selected person will be supervised within the lab of Dr. Pat Zollner and will work with project Co‑PIs (see below) to develop agent‑based submodels for Least Bell’s Vireo breeding biology and Brown‑headed Cowbird Parasitism. These bird‑focused submodels will interact with other process‑based (e.g., vegetation succession) and behavior‑based (beetle effects on vegetation) submodels, which are being developed by other team members.

The aggregation of all sub‑models into RESET will allow us to investigate the effects of interacting stressors on vireo habitat and population dynamics in a complex ecological system where applied ecosystem management is common. The applicant will work throughout the entire model development cycle to design, document, and analyze complex agent‑based models for vireos and cowbirds using best ABM practices.

The project already has a programmer, a current post‑doc in Dr. Zollner’s Lab, who is responsible for implementing all agent‑based models in code. Therefore, the role of the new post‑doctoral scholar or PhD student will be: