Ph.D. Student

Project Summary: Lehmann lovegrass is an introduced grass which is invasive throughout much of the southwestern US. This project will investigate ecological drivers of lovegrass invasion including prescribed fire, extant plant communities, and lovegrass traits. Lovegrass management and subsequent rangeland restoration will also be explored. 

We are seeking a Ph.D. student to conduct research on this project. Research will be under the direction of Drs. Garbowski (https://anrs.nmsu.edu/faculty/magda-garbowski.html) and Lehnhoff (https://wordpress.nmsu.edu/lehnhoff/). The successful candidate will work within the Departments of Animal and Range Sciences (https://anrs.nmsu.edu/index.html) and Entomology, Plant Pathology & Weed Science (https://eppws.nmsu.edu/) and have the opportunity to work with a diverse team of faculty within the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences to gain broad experience in invasion ecology and rangeland restoration.

Basic qualifications: Candidates should have: a MS degree in weed science, range science, spatial ecology, plant ecology (or a closely related field); excellent oral and written communication skills; a strong understanding of experimental design; and a willingness to occasionally work in inclement weather including extreme heat.

Preferred qualifications: Ideal candidates will have strong quantitative and statistical skills, a demonstrated ability to perform independent field research, and experience with GIS and with landscape scale data.