Deadline: Thu, 09/15/2022 - 12:00pm Employer: Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri; Columbia, Missouri Job Field: Fisheries Wildlife Job Type: Assistantship Location: Missouri Job Description: This project, funded by the National Park Service and Missouri Department of Conservation, seeks to conduct surveys on multiple streams throughout Missouri to increase our understanding of mussel-habitat predictive relationships, update distributional information, and develop a flexible sampling protocol that can be regionally adopted by managers. The successful applicant will gain experience working with multiple state and federal agencies on mussel conservation and ecology issues and have access to simultaneously acquired high-resolution habitat data from a companion project. Responsibilities: Develop survey protocols and implement a freshwater mussel survey of the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers within Ozark National Scenic Riverways Conduct intensive mussel surveys in nine stream reach where habitat mapping is planned and link local-scale distributions to habitat characteristics Design a multi-method sampling protocol for mussels capable of implementation across a wide variety of potential habitat types Summarize fish-mussel host relationships based on high quality fish and mussel data collected within target rivers Qualifications: Master’s degree in natural resources or related field, experience sampling and identifying freshwater mussels, strong written and verbal communication abilities, ability to work effectively in a team and with agency biologists, and a passion for the conservation of aquatic species. Preferred qualifications include good organizational skills, and the ability to develop strong quantitative skills. This is a field-intensive project and will require sampling in a variety of physically demanding conditions, operating canoes and boats, and leading/coordinating hourly field technicians. This work may include snorkeling and SCUBA surveys, however, SCUBA certification is not required when the student begins. Miscellaneous: Ideal start date: January 2023 (May 2023 possible) Salary: $25,000/year plus benefits and tuition waiver. Position will be for 4 years, but based on annual funding allocations. How to Apply: Contact: Email letter of interest, resume or CV, unofficial transcripts, and contact information for three references to Jacob Westhoff, Missouri Cooperative Research Unit, University of Missouri-Columbia. 573-884-8464; westhoffj@missouri.edu; Please see my lab website for more details: www.aquaticdiversity.com
