E v o l D i r

December 1, 2012 EvolDir 49
Students can pursue a M.S. or Ph.D degree in Biology.
Each of the degrees requires a student to identify
an area of concentration. The program offers: -
M.S. in Biology, Concentration in Ecology and Evolution
(EEV) - M.S. in Biology, Concentration in Environmental
and Ecological Microbiology (EVM) - M.S.
in Biology, Concentration in Physiology and Morphology
(PMY) - Ph.D. in Biology, Concentration in Ecology
and Evolution (EEV) - Ph.D. in Biology, Concentration
in Environmental and Ecological Microbiology
(EVM) - Ph.D. in Biology, Concentration in Physiology
and Morphology (PMY)
Faculty research interests include: biomechanics and
functional morphology; ecology (marine and freshwater,
conservation, restoration, population, community and
ecosystem); ecological genetics and epigenetics; ecophysiology;
ecotoxicology; environmental microbiology;
evolution; gene transfer; genomics; microbial physiology;
research synthesis; and response to climate change.
Faculty who are currently accepting students into
their laboratories (more information at http://biology.usf.edu/ib/faculty/):
* Bell, Susan- Marine Ecology * Crisman, Thomas-
Freshwater Ecology * Deban, Stephen- Physiology,
Biomechanics, and Evolution * Fox, Gordon- Plant
Ecology, Conservation Biology, and Population Biology
* Harwood, Valerie- Microbial Water Quality * Lajeunesse,
Marc- Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Research
Synthesis * Lewis, David- Ecosystem & Landscape
Ecology, Biogeochemistry * Martin, Lynn- Ecological
Physiology and Immunology * McCoy, Earl-
Conservation Ecology * Motta, Philip- Functional Morphology
* Mushinsky, Henry- Conservation Ecology *
Pierce, Sidney- Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry
* Richards, Christina- Plant Ecological Genomics and
Epigenetics * Rohr, Jason- Ecology * Scott, Kathleen-
Microbial Physiology and Biogeochemistry * Stiling,
Peter- Ecology
clr@usf.edu
USouthernCalifornia
IslandFoxEvolution
We seek to recruit a highly motivated doctoral student
to pursue dissertation research on the evolutionary history
of the island fox, *Urocyon littoralis*. The island
fox is smaller than its progenitor, the mainland gray
fox, and includes six subspecies, each restricted to a dif-
ferent island in Southern California’s Channel Islands
due to their unique migratory history during the Ice
Age and thereafter. Extreme population crashes have
occurred on several of the islands, leading to federal
protection for a subset of the subspecies. The work
will take advantage of fossils and historical samples
from museum collections, taken before the population
crashes, as well as recent samples.
The research will be part of a multidisciplinary project
(molecular, morphological and paleontological) involving
collaboration between the Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County, the Wrigley Institute for Environmental
Studies and the University of Southern California.
This is a funded project and the Ph.D. student
will have five years of support (including tuition remission)
through a combination of RAships, TAships and
fellowships.
Analyses of genetic and morphological changes can
be used to address a number of important questions.
When did the fox arrive at each island and how much
migration has there been amongst islands? Were humans
(Paleo-Indians) involved in the colonization of
each island? What is the genetic basis for the evolution
of dwarfism? How much genetic variation has been lost
due to population bottlenecks on the different islands?
Potential applicants are encouraged to contact either
Xiaoming Wang ( xwang@nhm.org) or Suzanne Edmands
(sedmands@usc.edu) for more information. Applications
should be submitted to the Integrative and
Evolutionary Biology Graduate Program at the University
of Southern California ( http://dornsife.usc.edu/bisc/heb/graduate/admissions.cfm).
To receive full
consideration for university fellowships, applications
should be submitted by December 1, 2012. However,
later applications will also be considered.
Suzanne Edmands Associate Professor Department
of Biological Sciences 3616 Trousdale Parkway, AHF
316 University of Southern California Los Angeles,
CA 90089 (213)740-5548 http://college.usc.edu/labs/edmands/home/index.cfm
edmandss@gmail.com
UWashington AvianEvolution
GRADUATE POSITIONS: U of Washington, Avian
evolution I am seeking 1-2 graduate students to develop
research (dissertation) projects that use modern molecular
methods combined with field work, to study the