I currently have 1-2 graduate student positions (M.Sc. or Ph.D.) in population/community ecology available in my lab. I am looking for bright, independent, highly motivated students interested in fundamental research in population and community ecology. Current or planned research projects in my lab include:
1. Spatial dynamics of competition. This project uses a combination of mathematical modeling and protist microcosm experiments to test the mechanisms by which continuous dispersal among patches of varying quality affects the outcome of within-patch resource competition.
2. Community assembly along enrichment gradients. This project uses protist microcosm experiments to test alternative ideas about how food webs assemble
along enrichment gradients.
3. Linking population and community dynamics. This project asks how the background community structure affects the population dynamics exhibited by Daphnia sp. (e.g., stage-structured cycles vs. predator-prey cycles), and asks about the consequences of different Daphnia population dynamics for the species with which Daphnia interacts. This is a collaborative project with Ed McCauley, involving a combination of mathematical modeling and aquatic mesocosm experiments.
4. Stability and complexity as a population dynamic problem. This project involves growing various combinations of protist predators and prey in laboratory microcosms, and rigorously modeling their population dynamics.
The models will be used to quantify the importance of different mechanisms
proposed to stabilize the dynamics of species embedded in complex food webs.
5. Local adaptation in aquatic bacteria. This project tests whether aquatic bacteria are locally adapted to the chemical conditions characterizing the sites and times at which they are found. This field-based project uses a comparative approach (sites arranged along environmental gradients, sampled at multiple time points) to identify the most important factors to which local adaptation occurs, and to quantify the relative magnitudes of spatial, temporal, and spatio-temporal niche
differentiation (local adaptation).
As these projects indicate, my own research employs a combination of mathematical modeling and experiments in tractable model systems, particularly protist microcosms. However, I strongly encourage students,
particularly Ph.D. students, to develop their own ideas and study systems.
A postdoc (David Vasseur, from Kevin McCann’s group) will be joining my lab in Jan. 2006 to work on project 4, and will be a great resource for students who join my lab. Students will also have significant opportunities to interact with other U of C faculty and students. The University of Calgary has a growing Department of Biological Sciences, and is situated in a large
but livable city close to the Rocky Mountains and many outdoor activities.
Funding will come from a combination of teaching assistantships and research assistantships.
For more information on my research, visit my website at http://www.bio.ucalgary.ca/divisions/ecology/index.html
Interested students should e-mail me a cover letter describing their research interests, and a cv including contact details for three references.
Jeremy Fox
Asst. Professor, University of Calgary
jefox@ucalgary.ca
http://www.bio.ucalgary.ca/divisions/ecology/index.html
1. Spatial dynamics of competition. This project uses a combination of mathematical modeling and protist microcosm experiments to test the mechanisms by which continuous dispersal among patches of varying quality affects the outcome of within-patch resource competition.
2. Community assembly along enrichment gradients. This project uses protist microcosm experiments to test alternative ideas about how food webs assemble
along enrichment gradients.
3. Linking population and community dynamics. This project asks how the background community structure affects the population dynamics exhibited by Daphnia sp. (e.g., stage-structured cycles vs. predator-prey cycles), and asks about the consequences of different Daphnia population dynamics for the species with which Daphnia interacts. This is a collaborative project with Ed McCauley, involving a combination of mathematical modeling and aquatic mesocosm experiments.
4. Stability and complexity as a population dynamic problem. This project involves growing various combinations of protist predators and prey in laboratory microcosms, and rigorously modeling their population dynamics.
The models will be used to quantify the importance of different mechanisms
proposed to stabilize the dynamics of species embedded in complex food webs.
5. Local adaptation in aquatic bacteria. This project tests whether aquatic bacteria are locally adapted to the chemical conditions characterizing the sites and times at which they are found. This field-based project uses a comparative approach (sites arranged along environmental gradients, sampled at multiple time points) to identify the most important factors to which local adaptation occurs, and to quantify the relative magnitudes of spatial, temporal, and spatio-temporal niche
differentiation (local adaptation).
As these projects indicate, my own research employs a combination of mathematical modeling and experiments in tractable model systems, particularly protist microcosms. However, I strongly encourage students,
particularly Ph.D. students, to develop their own ideas and study systems.
A postdoc (David Vasseur, from Kevin McCann’s group) will be joining my lab in Jan. 2006 to work on project 4, and will be a great resource for students who join my lab. Students will also have significant opportunities to interact with other U of C faculty and students. The University of Calgary has a growing Department of Biological Sciences, and is situated in a large
but livable city close to the Rocky Mountains and many outdoor activities.
Funding will come from a combination of teaching assistantships and research assistantships.
For more information on my research, visit my website at http://www.bio.ucalgary.ca/divisions/ecology/index.html
Interested students should e-mail me a cover letter describing their research interests, and a cv including contact details for three references.
Jeremy Fox
Asst. Professor, University of Calgary
jefox@ucalgary.ca
http://www.bio.ucalgary.ca/divisions/ecology/index.html
