Laura Kloepper
- @LauraKloepper
- | she/her
The Ecological Acoustics and Behavior Lab at the University of New Hampshire, led by PI Laura Kloepper, seeks a highly motivated PhD student to join our lab starting in the Fall of 2024 to investigate how forest habitat affects moose occupancy and soundscape in northern New Hampshire. Specifically, this student will evaluate passive acoustic monitoring as a viable method for monitoring moose within NH forests, quantify variability in soundscape acoustic profile across forest composition and configuration, and determine how forest habitat structural quality affects moose occupancy by combining acoustic data with camera data.
Successful applicants will be expected to work collaboratively with our lab and colleagues across departments and agencies, conduct ongoing fieldwork in rugged conditions, develop automated analysis pipelines in R and other programming environments, present their work at professional conferences, contribute to annual reports and grant proposals, and publish their work in peer-reviewed journals.
Minimum qualifications:
- Masters degree in ecology, wildlife biology, or related field
- Experience with fieldwork
- Experience with passive acoustic monitoring
- Experience with R and ArcGIS
- Experience communicating both orally and in writing
- Commitment to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect among our team
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience collaborating with state and federal agencies
- Experience with occupancy modeling and/or soundscape analysis
- Publication of results in peer-reviewed literature
- Experience with four-wheel trucks, trailers, ATVs, and snowmobiles
- Experience with developing passive acoustic auto-detectors (such as with ARBIMON or similar)
- Experience working alongside technicians and students
Physical requirements:
This position will require working in outdoor conditions in northern NH including cold temperatures, rain, and hot and humid summers. This position will require the ability to hike up to five miles at a time and travel for fieldwork up to two weeks at a time
Position Details:
Location: Durham, New Hampshire
Status: Full-time PhD student, paid according to the UNH graduate full-time stipend during the academic year, half-time stipend during the summer, full tuition coverage, and medical benefits.
Start Date: prior to Fall 2024 (exact date flexible)
Application Materials:
Please send a single PDF that includes 1) a cover letter outlining your experience and interest, 2) your CV, 3) contact information for three references, and 4) academic transcripts for all degrees (unofficial is fine) to Dr. Laura Kloepper at [email protected] Review of applications will begin February 15 and continue until filled.
For more information about our lab, please visit http://www.kloepperlab.net/