About the Opportunity
The Fritts Lab at Texas State University is seeking candidates for a one-year (with possibility for extension depending on funding) postdoctoral research associate with the main duty of assisting with a bat population monitoring project using acoustic survey data. The acoustic project is in support of the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat). Additional duties likely include assisting in assessing bat flight behavior in response to an acoustic deterrent in a flight cage at Texas State, 2-4 trips to capture small and meso- mammals, and assisting with avian point counts at solar facilities. The bat acoustic data already has been collected and is in need of manual species vetting, data analysis and visualization, and publication/report writing.
Duties:
Specific duties include: 1) Assist in manual and automatic classification of bat species using Sonobat; 2) hierarchical modeling (single species, community, dynamic, etc.) of acoustic data; 3) manuscript and report preparation; 4) capturing bats to assess flight behavioral response to various acoustic deterrents in a flight cage; 5) analyzing flight cage data; 6) capturing small and meso-mammals; and 7) assisting with point counts to assess the influence of solar energy on avian populations. The scholar also will have the opportunity to assist in mentoring graduate students.
Requirements:
1. Ph.D. in ecology, wildlife biology, conservation biology, natural resources, statistics, or a related quantitative field.
2. Strong mathematical and programming skills, experience in statistical estimation and simulation modeling and use of R.
3. Experience with analysis of acoustic monitoring data.
4. Experience with small and meso-mammal captures.
5. Knowledge of avian calls and point counts.
6. Demonstrated desire and proven ability to publish in peer-reviewed journals.
7. Excellent writing and personal communication skills, including with external partners.
8. Experience in partnerships/working with stakeholder groups.
9. Proven record of leadership with the ability to work independently and under limited supervision as well as collaboratively.
Recommended Qualifications:
Competitive candidates will also have one or more of the following qualifications: Previous experience with bat population ecology, knowledge of bat acoustic monitoring methods, population modeling, spatial analysis, machine learning, N-mixture models, Bayesian hierarchical models, big data skills, supervisory experience.
SALARY:
$52,000 plus benefits. One-year initial appointment with the possibility of yearly extensions not to exceed 5 years.
The Biology Department is a multidisciplinary department with ~70 faculty members, both on tenure and non-tenure tracks, which serve ~2,000 undergraduate majors, ~6,000 non-majors requiring biology classes and >200 master's and doctoral students. The department encompasses several major programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels including Aquatic Biology, Wildlife Biology, Microbiology, Population and Conservation Biology, and Biology Education as well as a diverse range of laboratory and field-based research that includes, but is not limited to wildlife ecology, parasitology, hydroecology, cell physiology, microbial genetics/genomics, ecological immunology, and microfluidic devices. Texas State has made remarkable progress in the growth of research activity and had research expenditures in FY2022 exceeding $110 million which is comparable to Carnegie R1 institutions in the country and projects $140 million in FY2023.
HOW TO APPLY:
Send Sarah Fritts (fritts.sarah@txstate.edu) an email with a cover letter explaining your experience, CV, and contact information for 3 references.
You can also click on this link to visit the official website of the institution to find out more about the opportunity https://jobs.rwfm.tamu.edu/view-job/?id=85103
Contact
- Sarah Fritts
- +1 678-836-7223
- fritts.sarah@txstate.edu (preferred contact method)
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Texas State University (State) | https://www.bio.txst.edu/
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