MSC POSITION IN MARINE INVERTEBRATE ECOLOGY

The Gosselin lab (http://faculty.tru.ca/lgosselin/) at Thompson Rivers University, in Kamloops, British Columbia, is seeking applicants for an MSc position, with an intended start date of January 2024.  Benthic invertebrates, such as barnacles, snails, mussels, tubeworms, crabs and hermit crabs, are the dominant animals in coastal habitats; they are also an important part of the coastal food web linking primary producers to upper-level predators, and several benthic invertebrates are either harvested or reared in aquaculture as food for humans. The abundance, and even the persistence, of these populations over time is largely dependent on survivorship through the early juvenile phase, a highly vulnerable and critical period of life of benthic marine invertebrates. Research in our lab focuses primarily on the ecology of the early juvenile phase. Our work aims to understand the factors that control survivorship through the early juvenile phase, and especially the impacts of climate change.

The upcoming MSc project will explore effects of climate change on intertidal invertebrates, examining tolerance thresholds of early juvenile invertebrates and chronic effects of warming conditions and increasing desiccation stress on early juveniles. The project will involve field collection and experimentation in pristine coastal habitats as well as laboratory experimentation.  Field research work will be carried out during the spring and summer, primarily at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre  on beautiful Vancouver Island, and at various field sites in Barkley Sound. Students will spend the rest of the year (Sept-April) on campus at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC.

Qualifications:

We are looking for individuals with a keen interest and enthusiasm for marine invertebrate ecology and a background in ecology and evolution.  The following are not required but will be considered favourably: research experience acquired by completing an Honours or Directed Study program during your bachelors degree or by working as a research assistant with a professor at your university or in a government laboratory; prior course work or work experience in population ecology, aquatic invertebrate biology, or ecological field techniques; field courses in ecology or invertebrate biology. To qualify, applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents and have a BSc in a relevant field. The selected student will be admitted through the MSc in Environmental Science program at Thompson Rivers University.

Stipends to support the student in this MSc position will be provided through Graduate Research Assistantships and opportunities for Teaching Assistantships. 

Start date of this position: January 2024.

Application instructions:

Review of all applications received will begin on 16 October 2023, and will continue until position is filled. If interested, please send a Curriculum vitae, post-secondary transcripts, and a letter describing your academic interests and qualifications and outlining why you want to carry out a graduate degree in marine ecology, via email, to:

Dr Louis Gosselin

Department of Biological Sciences, TRUlgosselin@tru.ca