An NSF collaboration w/ UC Davis, CA Dept. of Fish & Wildlife & UCSB

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Update: These positons have been filled.

The Department of Biological Sciences at Florida State University invites applications for funded post-doctoral and PhD student positions to help conduct experiments, fieldwork, labwork and/or modeling with Dr. Dan Okamoto. Research will focus on how sea urchins respond to climate change with a focus on bioenergetics and metabolism, reproduction (including fertilization, larval viability), gene expression/ecological genetics, larval dispersal, and/or recruitment. Research will take place at the Bodega Marine Lab and other settings in California and along the eastern Pacific as part of a collaborative NSF funded project.

Required qualifications: Post-doctoral applicants must have demonstrated skills in experimental ecology, ecological genetics, invertebrate reproduction, larval biology, and/or empirical application of bioenergetics models (e.g. dynamic energy budget models) and a strong publication record.  PhD applicants should have interest and experience in one or more of these topics. 

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About the opportunities

Extreme warming events such as marine heatwaves and El Niño have had devastating impacts on marine ecosystems.  Yet for many species, how these events mechanistically affect properties that control population collapses often remain understudied.  For purple sea urchins, the impacts of warming are enormous because larval recruitment and reproduction are temperature dependent, explosion and collapses in purple urchin population are linked to larval supply, and proliferation of this species can devastate kelp nearshore ecosystems.  A new NSF grant, led by PI Okamoto, is funded to investigate how warming affects purple urchin reproduction, bioenergetics, and larval supply and transport in California both experimentally at the Bodega Marine Laboratory and through a mechanistic spatial modeling framework. 

The researchers will work directly with other project leads Dr. Laura Rogers-Bennett (Bodega Marine Lab and CDFW), Dr. Rachel Simons (UCSB), Dr. Jonathan Dennis (FSU) and Dr. Steve Schroeter (UCSB). Applicants may also have the opportunity to conduct research in collaboration with the Hakai Institute, Santa Barbara Coastal LTER, and/or Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.  

Read more about the project from the FSU news release and at the NSF website.

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Prospective candidates should send the following to Dan Okamoto at dokamoto@bio.fsu.edu:

Prospective graduate students should include a CV and a short introduction in the email in addition to any questions about the position.  PhD applications are due to the graduate program Dec. 1, 2020 for priority review and Jan 30 at the very latest. Students should send inquiries well in advance of these application deadlines.

Prospective post-docs should submit an application package including CV, list of at least three references, and a cover letter outlining qualifications, career objectives, and research accomplishments.  Minimum salaries and post-doc support at FSU are documented here. Review of applications will begin October 30, 2020 and the call will remain open until filled.

We especially encourage applicants identifying as Indigenous or underrepresented minority for both positions. Florida State University is an equal opportunity employer and educational provider committed to a policy of non-discrimination for any member of the University’s community on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veterans’ status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other legally protected group status.