[Coral-List] Critical Habitat Research Assistant

[janelle.curtis at elf.mcgill.ca]

The Centre for Applied Conservation Research at the University of British
Columbia is seeking to fill a full-time research assistant position. The
position is for six months initially, with a possible 12 – 18 month extension.

JOB SUMMARY:

This job will be related to a collaborative project of the Centre for Applied
Conservation Research (Forestry, UBC) Parks Canada and BC Ministry of
Environment to develop and evaluate quantitative methods for identifying
critical habitat in the context of Canada's Species at Risk Act. The incumbent
will be responsible for assisting faculty and collaborators with (1) the
collection of life history and habitat data, (2) assembling data for a review
of the potential and actual applications of quantitative methods for critical
habitat identification, (3) producing and summarizing model output using
spatially-explicit population viability analysis software (e.g. RAMAS GIS,
PATCH, VORTEX) and (4) completing other tasks related to the project, as
required.

PERSONAL SPECIFICATIONS AND SKILLS:

A well motivated individual with an excellent combination of technical and
communication skills is required. The successful applicant is expected, under
general supervision, to perform a variety of non-technical and technical
scientific activities in the computer lab.  S/he must have excellent
communication skills both verbal and written in order to contact different
agencies or individuals for data collection. The applicant must have at least a
university degree, preferably an MSc with expertise in population ecology,
metapopulation dynamics and/or landscape ecology. S/he must have a good basic
understanding of statistics, strong database management skills, experience
performing spatial population viability analyses and knowledge of GIS.
Experience with literature reviews and manuscript preparation would also be
valued assets. Ability to work at a computer on a full-time basis is required.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

For more details regarding the application procedure, or to submit an
application, go to: http://www.hr.ubc.ca/files/postings/main.html and click on
Trades/Technical. This position will be posted at this website from 12 – 16
December 2005. All applications must be submitted to UBC Human Resources
directly by 16 December 2005. For more details regarding the position, please
feel free to contact Janelle Curtis at janelle.curtis at ubc.ca