Ph.D. Fellowships Available
Heterogeneity and Resilience of Human-Caribou/Reindeer Systems
University of Alaska Fairbanks
To apply, please send a letter of interest and your CV to:
Gary Kofinas
E-mail: gary.kofinas [at] uaf.edu
The University of Alaska Fairbanks seeks three broadly trained students
to focus on the biophysical, socio-economic, and institutional/policy
dimensions of human-rangifer (reindeer/caribou) systems as part of an
interdisciplinary synthesis project of the National Science Foundation.
The study involves ten researchers focused on six regional case studies
to examine the heterogeneity and resilience of human-rangifer systems of
the circumpolar north. For further information, please see:
http://www.rap.uaf.edu/kofinas/HRS/index.htm
Ph.D. students may focus on any one of the following general subject
areas, and will be expected to collaborate effectively with studies in
the remaining subject areas:
Habitat dynamics of large mammalian herbivores and their implications
to population performance; investigate large-scale temporal and spatial
heterogeneity in the habitats and performance of arctic calving caribou
to assess the resilience of caribou to changes in climate and
development.Socio-economic and institutional aspects of commercial and mixed
subsistence-commercial hunting and herding systems; build economic
models to investigate the effects of costs, market prices, and policies;
analyze aspects of local economies, including effects on the
distribution of risk and reward and other system outcomes.Local community linkages with regional-to-national level decision
making; examine adaptive capacity of resource management systems to
respond to change; evaluate policies for selection and management of
"important habitat" and related vulnerabilities.
The project contributes to the Circum-Arctic Rangifer Monitoring and
Assessment Network (CARMA), a project of the International Polar Year
(http://www.rangifer.net/carma). Individuals with knowledge of Russian
are encouraged to apply. Students interested in simulation modeling are
also encouraged to apply.
For further information, please contact:
Gary Kofinas
E-mail: gary.kofinas [at] uaf.edu