Upcoming Opportunities and Deadlines

SEEDS Travel Awards for 2007 ESA Annual Meeting in San Jose, CA
SEEDS offers travel awards for undergraduate students, program alumni in graduate school, and Campus Ecology Chapter faculty advisors to attend the Ecological Society of America (ESA) Annual Meeting. Travel awards cover air travel, meals, lodging, and registration. Applications for travel awards are available at http://esa.org/seeds/activities/AnnualMeetingInfo.php. The application deadline is March 12, 2007. Don't forget to tell your Chapter members and other potential SEEDS students!

 

May 1 Chapter Report Deadline
May 1st is the annual report deadline for all SEEDS Campus Ecology Chapters. Annual report forms are at http://esa.org/seeds/activities/CampusEcologyChapters.php We look forward to learning more about what your Chapter has been doing.

 

ESA Student Section Travel Grants for Student Presenters
The ESA Student Section is awarding travel grants to help defray the costs of attendance for students (undergraduate or graduate) who plan to present poster or oral presentations at the 2007 ESA Annual Meeting. Awards are available for students from within and outside of the US. The application deadline is April 20, 2007. The application is available at www.esa.org/students. Direct questions to Abe Miller-Rushing (ajmr@bu.edu) or Jenny Talbot (talbot.jenny@gmail.com).

 

Please note that the SEEDS travel awards and the Student Section travel grants are separate opportunities. Student may, and are encouraged to, apply for both.

 

Event Recaps

SEEDS Leadership Meeting
A joint SEEDS Advisory Board meeting and second annual SEEDS Leadership Meeting was held in San Jose California on Feb. 23 and 24. The SEEDS leadership meeting consisted of almost all SEEDS fellowship students since the program was initiated in 2003. It was the first time that all the Advisory Board members had a chance to interact with SEEDS students. In addition, leaders of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) - governing board members Meg Lowman and Rich Pouyat - attended the meeting to give students a glimpse inside the ESA governing board. To read more, go to: Leadership.

 

University of Michigan Chapter Visit
Jason Taylor, ESA’s Director of Education and Diversity Initiatives, met with the University of Michigan SEEDS Chapter in January. While he was there, faculty advisor Dr. Ivette Perfecto and student members reported to Jason their activities since the chapter began in the fall of 2006. Bi-weekly meetings, field trips, planning collaborations with local communities, and a “sciencepalooza” were some of the activities mentioned. In the future, they plan to invite local ecologists to participate in an environmental careers information session, and promote the science of ecology and its importance to non-ecology majors. To read more, go to:Michigan.

 

SEEDS Updates

Jorge Ramos, SEEDS Student Coordinator
The tables have turned! Now I have the amazing opportunity to be behind-the-scenes at the SEEDS program! Since I joined the SEEDS program on the Lafayette, Louisiana 2004 field trip, my life has not been the same. I participated in two field trips, three ESA annual meetings, and was a SEEDS Undergraduate Research Fellow two years ago. I wouldn’t be where I am and I wouldn’t be the person I am without the support I have received from SEEDS. To read more, go to: Jorge.

 

Science and Policy

What is IPY?
On February 26, Jorge Ramos attended the inauguration of the International Polar Year (IPY) at the National Academies of Science. The IPY is a large scientific program focused on the Polar regions from March 2007 to March 2009. It promises to advance our understanding of how the Earth’s Polar regions impact global climate systems. To read more, go to: Polar.

 

Ecology Bulletin Board

Research Experiences for Undergraduates
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the NSF. REU projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects designed especially for the purpose.
Here is a sampling:
University of Colorado: Mountain Research Station
Location: Boulder, CO
Participation Dates: June 4 - August 10, 2007
Application Deadline: March 2, 2007

Georgia Southern University: Chemistry and Biology
Location: Statesboro, Georgia
Participation Dates: May 14 - July 20, 2007
Application Deadline: March 23, 2007

Marine Biological Laboratory: Amazon Tropical Watershed Studies
Location: Matto Grosso, Brazil
Participation Dates: July-August, 2007
Application Deadline: March 15, 2007

For more REU opportunities, go to: http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.cfm

 

Bat Ecology Research Assistant
A research assistant is needed for a project examining factors affecting foraging activities of the insectivorous Brazilian free-tailed bat. Work will include: nightly recording of foraging bat calls; measuring environmental variables; data entry/analysis; potential help/participation in additional bat research being conducted in the region
Location: South-central Texas
Participation Dates: Mid May to mid August of 2007
Application Deadline: Until position is filled
For more information, go to: ESA's Job Board

 

Arctic Ecology Field Assistants
The Ecosystems Center of the Marine Biological Laboratory is seeking applicants for summer field assistant positions on an on going ecological research project. These positions will be located at the Toolik Field Station in northern Alaska.
Location: Toolik Field Station, Northern Alaska
Participation Dates: June - August, 2007
Application Deadline: Until suitable candidates are identified
For more information, go to: ESA's Job Board

 

Judge Bay Wetlands Sanctuary Intern
We are accepting applications from university students to participate in new and on-going studies of turtles and wetlands for the 2007 field season. The fieldwork takes place at the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, a 1400-acre research station and environmental education center located on the Patuxent River Estuary, 20 miles east of Washington, D.C.
Location: Patuxent River Estuary, east of Washington D.C.
Participation Dates: The intern position is for a 3.5 or 4 month period. The preferred start date is April 15, but this could be pushed back to May 1. The work project ends on August 15. Interns work five full days a week; occasionally nights and on weekends.
Application Deadline: March 30, 2007
For more information, go to: ESA's Job Board

 

Sustainability and Exotic Invasion Research Assistant
Field assistant positions (project leader and field crew members) starting this spring on a project addressing the sustainability of invasive Artichoke Thistle (Cynara cardunculus) control efforts in southern California. Work will predominantly be in the field, in coastal sage scrub and grassland near Irvine, and focus on the success of passive restoration and the presence of restoration thresholds following 2-8 years of exotic removal. Work includes plot selection using GIS, field surveys of vegetation, species identification, and data management/analysis, with the goal of providing management recommendations based on the work.
Location: University of California Irvine
Participation Dates: early April-June or April-September, 2007
Application Deadline: Applications will be considered immediately
For more information, go to: ESA's Job Board

 

Undergraduate Research Program in Ireland
"Integrating Ecology and Evolution in a Changing World" is a summer, undergraduate research program based in Dublin, Ireland. Its aim is to provide research training and experience, as well as an introduction to Ireland, to national and international undergraduate students. Students will work within active research groups in Trinity College Dublin, Ireland's premier university.
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Participation Dates: July 2 – September 7, 2007
Application Deadline: March 16, 2007
For more information, go to: ESA's Job Board

 

Smithsonian Botany Assistant
Position available to assist botanist in resurvey of herbaceous and woody plants within multiple plots that differ in their abundance of invasive species and deer herbivory.  Work is part of a multi-year National Park Service and Smithsonian Institution-sponsored study in Great Falls National Park, MD-VA and the Conservation and Research Center, Front Royal, VA.
Location: Greater Washington, D.C. Metro area
Participation Dates: May 15 - mid-August, 2007
Application Deadline: March 11, 2007
For more information, go to: ESA's Job Board

 

National Museum of Ireland Research Program
CoBiD-UREKA is a research summer programme in Dublin, Ireland for international undergraduate students to work with the National Museum of Ireland (Natural History) and University College Dublin.
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Participation Dates: June 11th to August 17th 2007
Application Deadline: March 25, 2007
For more information, go to: ESA's Job Board

 

Woods Hole Sabbatical Leave and Student Off-Campus Study Opportunities
Sabbatical Leave
The Ecosystems Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA is seeking applicants for a guest faculty / research appointment during Fall 2007 from qualified professionals on sabbatical leave at a college or university serving under-represented groups in environmental science. The successful applicant is expected to sponsor one or two undergraduates (juniors or seniors) from his/her home institution who will enroll in the Semester in Environmental Science (SES) in Woods Hole during Fall 2007. Through joint participation in the program by both faculty and students at colleges serving under-represented groups in environmental science, the Center hopes to foster development of environmental science programs within institutions serving African-American, Hispanic, Native-American and other minority groups in science.
Semester in Environmental Science (SES)
The SES is a unique, hands on training program for undergraduates (primarily Juniors/Seniors) focused on biogeochemistry and ecosystems science. Students are taught by distinguished faculty at The Ecosystems Center who are conducting research world wide on topics ranging from land use change in urban settings to climate change in the arctic and deforestation in the Amazon. The program stresses field work in coastal forests, freshwater and salt ponds, and estuaries. Students in the SES pursue their own independent research on local ecosystems on Cape Cod during the program.
Location: Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Participation Dates: Fall 2007 Semester
Application Deadline: March 23, 2007
For more information, go to: ESA's Job Board

 

If you're interested in posting an opportunity, please visit http://www.esa.org/seeds/activities/newsletter.php

 

Help Support SEEDS

We invite you to contribute to ESA's SEEDS Program to help support and encourage greater diversity in the ecology profession. Contributions to the SEEDS program are tax deductible and are used to support special initiatives for underrepresented students. To contribute, visit www.esa.org/seeds/supportSEEDS.php