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Pre-application procedures |
I hope to accept 2 new MS students from the next pool of applicants (to start Fall or Spring) so please get in touch sending the information requested below.
MS candidates in the 'Black Lab' design and conduct projects based on ecological and evolutionary principles that result in one or two publications, aiming to contribute to journals such as Journal of Animal Ecology, Ecology, Behavioral Ecology, Animal Behaviour, Journal of Applied Ecology, Journal of Wildlife Management, etc., etc.
If interested in applying, there are a few initial steps you could take to introduce yourself.
Begin by looking at my list of current studies and some of our recent publications to make sure we have mutual research interests. Tell me which of the long-term studies you would like to participate in or tell me about a new project you have in mind.
Send a letter explaining what topic and study system you would like to work on and include a list of your completed science courses along with your resume (CV). Humboldt has a 3.0 gpa and a 1000 GRE requirement.
I may ask you to send me an example of your science writing in the form of a 2-page pre-proposal focusing on your favorite model study system; be sure to identify a study problem, hypotheses/objectives, and the primary investigative methods.
Assessment of these unofficial-applications are based on writing skills, compatibility of interests, g.p.a., undergraduate background (including evolutionary theory), field/lab experience, references, and potential funding. The official application, with university forms and fees, is a separate process.
I have worked with graduate student candidates on a variety of study topics, including:
- feeding ecology (plant-herbivore interaction, habitat choice, flock dynamics and predation risk)
- social evolution (mating systems, mate choice, parent-offspring relationships, personality traits or behavioral syndromes)
- signal design (vocal, visual and scent communication; signalers, receivers and eavesdroppers; plumage ornament trade-offs)
- population dynamics (dispersal, migration, mortality, life-time reproduction, population viability modeling, reintroduction science).
Candidates worked with a variety of animal systems with pure and applied results published in quality journals. We found our studies on processes involved in natural selection, sexual selection and kin selection.
At Humboldt State University, my research group includes 5-6 candidates at any one time. We meet as a group most weeks to support and monitor progress. MS candidates also work closely with seniors (wildlife majors) that often collect complementary data for their senior thesis.
I am currently encouraging studies on several Pacific Flyway migratory species that stop at Humboldt Bay (right near our campus) before traveling to Alaska and other northern breeding grounds:
- 75,000+ black brant (geese) that build fat and nutrient stores by feeding on succulent eelgrass.
- 75,000+ Aleutian geese that utilize lush pasture and saltmarsh plants.
- 12+ assorted duck species that make a living in the varied fresh, brackish or saltwater mediated wetlands.
- Western Canada geese that nest in habitats around Humboldt Bay
- Steller's jays that are resident on the edge of the redwood forest
I also work with students interested in pursuing questions dealing with my ongoing studies of river otters that live in this area. We are also busy quantifying the health of eelgrass Zostera marina, the habitat on which most Humboldt Bay animals depend.
Prior to acceptance into the program most prospective MS candidates make sure they visit Arcata and get to know one or more of the professors. The best way to get to know a professor, of course, is to take one of their classes. Several 'post-baccalaureates' have gained entrance to the Wildlife MS program after spending a semester or two 'topping up' their vitae taking relevant wildlife courses. For example, we offer upper-level undergraduate courses in Wildlife Techniques, Diseases, Ethology, Energetics, Populations, Conservation Biology, Wildlife-habitat relationships, Waterfowl, Mammals, and Shorebirds.
Current graduate students (date refers to start):
2008 – Christina Rockwell (MS) Foraging selectivity in Steller’s jays.
2008 – Jeff Zirpoli (MS) Plumage ornaments and immunocompetence in Steller’s
jays.
2007 – Jen Terry (MS) Northern River Otter sociality and demography.
2006 – Lindsy Green (MS) Quantifying Steller’s jay personalities: implications for
fidelity to mate and territory.
2006 – Kyle Spragens (MS) Aleutian goose response to facilitation by livestock
grazing regimes in coastal pastures.
2005 – Pia Gabriel (PhD) Pair bond tenure in Steller’s Jays; tests of mate and
territory quality hypotheses. University of Munich, Germany.
2005 – Dominic Bachman (MS) Aleutian goose response to manipulated nutrients in
coastal pastures.
2003 – Chris West (MS) Vigilance in reintroduced California condors: the impact of
early-rearing experience.
Previous graduate students (dates refer to completion date):
2008 – Susannah Ferson (MS) Response of eelgrass to simulated grazing by black
geese.
2007 – Emily Bjerre (MS) Black brant forage optimally for gizzard grit.
2005 – Anne Mini (MS) Energetic expenditure of Aleutian Canada geese experiencing
different management regimes.
2003 – Ken Griggs (MS) Parental investment in Western Canada geese.
2003 – Jeff Moore (MS) Black brant foraging on eelgrass in Humboldt Bay, CA.
2002 – Derek Lee (MS) Spring stopover of black brant geese at Humboldt Bay, CA.
2000 - John Quinn (PhD) Relationship between Red-breasted Geese
and Peregrine Falcons during the breeding season, Oxford University, England.
1999 - Friederike Woog (PhD) Dominance and dispersal of Hawaiian Geese,
University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany.
1995 - Glynn Young (MS)The systematic position of Meller's Duck: a
behavioural approach, University of Kent, England.
1993 - Ute Zillich (PhD) Social behaviour of Hawaiian Geese,
University of Bonn, Germany – not finished (ABD)
1993 - Friederike Woog (MS) Ecology of Hawaiian Geese in habitats of
Haleakala National Park, Maui, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany.
1992 - Sharmila Choudhury (PhD) Mate Choice in Barnacle Geese, Oxford University.
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