PhD opportunity:

Thermal ecology and responses to global change in native bees and wasps (co-supervised by Dr. Ilona Naujokaitis-Lewis, Environment & Climate Change Canada, and Dr. Jessica Forrest, University of Ottawa)

We seek applications from highly motivated and qualified candidates for a funded PhD position in the Department of Biology at the University of Ottawa, Canada. We are looking for a candidate to lead research on the responses of native bees and other beneficial insects, such as solitary hunting wasps, to their thermal environments under climate change. The candidate will build on research conducted jointly by Dr. JF and Dr. INL on the demographic responses of cavity-nesting Hymenoptera to forest-related microclimates and the role of forest cover in providing microclimatic refugia in agricultural landscapes.

Understanding the thermal biology and ecology of beneficial insects is critical to predicting and mitigating the impacts of climate change. At the same time, we need a better understanding of the co-benefits of natural vegetation, such as the ability of trees and shrubs to provide microrefugia (i.e. safe havens) for native insects by regulating local temperatures. Filling these knowledge gaps can help inform land management and climate adaptation strategies aimed at conserving native bees and other beneficial insects, especially in highly human-modified landscapes. The PhD candidate will have the flexibility to adapt the project to their interests, and opportunities exist to apply a combination of landscape-scale field experiments, lab experiments, and modeling, such as species distribution modeling.

While offering an opportunity for a highly motivated candidate to direct the research, the project will be aligned with real-world conservation needs through collaborations with academics and government scientists. It is anticipated that this work will address key knowledge gaps and will be used to inform extinction risk assessments of native bee species of conservation concern, as well as identify climate change adaptation actions that promote a resilient native pollinator community.

The successful candidate will be co-supervised by Dr. Jessica Forrest (University of Ottawa) and Dr. Ilona Naujokaitis-Lewis (National Wildlife Research Centre, Environment and Climate Change Canada). The candidate will be based at the Forrest Lab in the Department of Biology at the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The successful candidate will also be associated with the Naujokaitis-Lewis Lab through the National Wildlife Research Centre, Environment and Climate Change Canada based in Ottawa, located on Carleton University campus.

Qualifications/requirements include (1) M.Sc. in biology, with experience in Ecology and Statistics; (2) interest in gaining empirical and modeling skills; (3) desire to perform field and/or lab work; (4) an ability to work independently and collaboratively; (5) full G driver’s license at the time of fieldwork.

The position is open to Canadians and permanent residents of Canada only. Anticipated start date: Sept 2025 or 2026. We will consider applications on a rolling basis until a candidate has been selected.

Ph.D. students in Biology at the University of Ottawa receive an annual stipend of (minimum) $25 025 for four years, of which approximately 50% is paid in the form of teaching assistantships (up to 130 hours of TA work per term during the fall and winter terms). In addition, students with an incoming GPA of at least 8.0 (on a 10-point scale) will be considered for a doctoral admission scholarship of $9000 per year over four years (https://www.uottawa.ca/study/graduate-studies/funding-financing/awards/admission-scholarship).

To apply, send: (1) a cover letter that explains how your research and experience aligns with the skills and research activities listed above, (2) a CV or resume, (3) (unofficial) undergraduate and graduate transcripts, and (4) a list of two references and contact info, to both Ilona Naujokaitis-Lewis (ilona.naujokaitis-lewis@ec.gc.ca) and Jessica Forrest (jforrest@uottawa.ca).