Blois Paleoecology Lab

Application Deadline: April 9^th, 2023

Anticipated Timeline: May 30^th, 2023 – August 11^th, 2023

Compensation: full time, $15.50-17.73/hour

We are currently looking for an undergraduate research assistant to help during the summer of 2023! The research assistant will work directly with graduate student Reina Warnert on various projects related to small mammal communities in Yosemite National Park. This position will provide valuable field experience to individuals hoping to explore career options in biology and ecology.

Field work will include extensive hiking to, from, and within study sites and working early mornings and odd hours. Shared lodging will be provided during field work times for the duration of the position at the Yosemite Field Station in Wawona. Some camping, for up to 5 nights at a time, may be required. Other activities may also include lab-based and computational-based work.

More details are provided on the job description.

To apply for this job, go to: https://ucmerced.joinhandshake.com/jobs/7659592/share_preview and login with your UCM single sign on.

Please direct any questions to jblois@ucmerced.edu or rwarnert@ucmerced.edu

Great news to start off the year! The Blois lab had two papers accepted over the winter break. The first was a paper led by former PhD student Nate Fox, working with a great team to examine correspondence between small mammal isotope values and past climate at the La Brea Tar Pits. Then, former PhD student Rob Boria had his final PhD chapter accepted, examining the phylogeography of the Peromycus maniculatus species complex across the western US. Both papers are fully open access, thanks to the UC transformative agreements with Elsevier!

The Blois lab also officially welcomes Val Syverson, a new postdoc on the paleomodeling project we’re working on with Marta Jarzyna. Val officially started in November, but the UC strike disrupted their transition.

Coupled with the official start of the NSF FAIROS research coordination network, focusing on examining FAIR and CARE issues in paleobiological and zooarcheological resources, and a new class to teach as part of my ongoing NSF CAREER grant (Ecology in the Field and Lab), it’s shaping up to be a busy semester!

Marta Jarzyna at Ohio State and I were just awarded a new NSF grant to investigate the spatial and temporal non-stationarity of processes structuring communities. The project will leverage the fossil record of small mammals across the late Quaternary, simulations and species distribution modeling techniques, and trait datasets for small mammals. It’s super exciting! We each have a postdoctoral position available in our labs – the two postdoc will work closely with us and one another on this project. Please see the linked job ads below, and let us know if you have any questions!

Applications are invited for two (2) NSF-funded postdoctoral researcher positions in the field of Quaternary Paleoecology and Species Distribution Modeling. The first position is based at the Jarzyna lab in the Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology at The Ohio State University. The second position is based at the Blois Lab in the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences at University of California, Merced.

Positions’ descriptions and how to apply can be found under the following links. We will start reviewing applications on Monday, August 15^th.

Position 1, Jarzyna Lab.

Position 2, Blois Lab.