Por cortesía del doctor José Luis Pantoja PhD., Investigador Prometeo de la Secretaría de Educación Superior, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación, que presta sus servicios profesionales en la Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas (ESPE), en el Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida y la Agricultura, les ofrecemos la información relacionada con estas dos oportunidades de becas para estudiar doctorados en pastos en la Universidad de Alberta.
UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
Department of Biological Sciences
Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences
Two PhD. Assistantship
We are seeking two Ph.D. students for a fully funded project examining the impact of drought and grazing regimes on system wide responses in grasslands. Grasslands provide a host of ecosystem goods and services foremost of which is the provision of forage for livestock, but they also store and sequester C. The likelihood of more extreme weather is increasing and one consequence will be more frequent and more extreme droughts in grassland that will reduce overall productivity. Grazing systems (timing, frequency, and intensity of plant removal) can alter the plant community and may be used to structure plant communities to be more resistant to drought. Additionally, some grazing systems have been advocated as a means to substantially reduce atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations through biological sequestration but there have been few tests of the widespread applicability of these approaches or investigation of the mechanisms that might lead to these outcomes. This project is designed to investigate the combined effects of drought and different grazing systems on ecosystem functions, and their controlling mechanisms, across a natural precipitation gradient in grasslands.
The first Ph.D. position will focus on above- and below-ground plant responses to drought and grazing systems. The student will reside in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta and will be co-supervised by Drs. J.C. Cahill and Cameron Carlyle.
http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/programs/graduate/funding-awards-and-scholarships/
The second PhD. position will focus on greenhouse gas fluxes and C pools in response to drought and grazing systems. The student will reside in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Alberta and will be co-supervised by Drs. Cameron Carlyle and Scott Chang.
http://www.afns.ualberta.ca/Graduate.aspx
Both students will have the opportunity to develop independent research directions within the broader project. There will be opportunities to incorporate light spectrum sensors, microbial diversity and abundance measures, and other explanatory measures. They will work with a diverse team that includes plant ecologists, microbial ecologists, soil scientists, and rangeland scientists. Collaboration between students and collaborators is encouraged as are interactions with a large and growing community of rangeland, plant and soil researchers.
Candidates should be highly motivated, independent thinkers and be willing to work as part of an integrated team. Candidates should have a background in a relevant field of study, such as ecology, soil science, plant science, or environmental science.
The University of Alberta is a leading Canadian research institution with extensive facilities, resources and expertise. We offer competitive stipends and opportunity for teaching assistantships and other scholarships. Successful candidates can begin now or as late as 31st May 2016.
Please direct questions or, to apply, send a cover letter detailing your research interests, Resume or CV, transcripts, and TOEFL and GRE scores to Cameron Carlyle: cameron.carlyle@ualberta.ca780.492.2546 and J.C. Cahill cahillj@ualberta.ca.