Research opportunity: Macroevolution of snakes and other vertebrates
Funded research internships are available in Dan Rabosky's lab in the Museum of Zoology and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (http://www-personal.umich.edu/~drabosky/Home.html). Research in the Rabosky Lab involves trying to explain how and why animals have evolved such spectacular diversity of body form. These research internships will focus on snakes, bats, and other vertebrates. Within snakes, for example, many different body forms have evolved: snakes include heavy-bodied ambush predators (rattlesnakes, pythons), slender and very fast pursuit predators (whipsnakes, racers), and a range of species that are highly specialized for life in the trees, in rivers and lakes, and even the oceans. Research projects will involve quantifying aspects of body form in a broad range of animals and testing hypotheses about how and why body shape differs among groups. Specific methods used may include (1) measuring preserved museum specimens, (2) CT scanning and image analysis, (3) compiling data on diet and other ecological traits from the literature, and (4) computational analysis of morphological and ecological evolution. Applications are welcome from U of M students at any stage, including graduating seniors.
The internship involves a $5000 stipend for a 10 week research internship, which will begin in late May. To apply, please email both Dan Rabosky (drabosky@umich.edu) and Jeff Shi (jeffjshi@umich.edu), with the subject line "Rabosky Lab Summer Internship". In the email, include a brief description of your background: what year are you, what is your major, etc, and a brief explanation of why the research project sounds appealing to you. Please also include attach a resume (including GPA).
Final deadline for applications is March 25 but early application is recommended.
