*Two NSF-funded PhD Assistantships to study beaver dam analogues impacts on floodplain hydrology.

*We are seeking two PhD students to start May or June 2021 for an NSF project focused on understanding the hydrologic impacts of beaver dam analogues in semi-arid landscapes using a combination of fieldwork (Wyoming), numerical modeling, and UAV image analysis. As populations of beavers have declined, local municipalities, state agencies, and private landowners have been installing beaver dam analogues (BDAs), a stream restoration structure that mimics the form of natural beaver dams, in beaver-less stream reaches. Due to their simplicity and expected benefits, BDAs are gaining extensive attention and implementation, in spite of the absence of clear scientific data to assess their impacts on reach scale hydrology. The proposed project aims to address this gap in knowledge in order to determine the extent to which BDAs alter groundwater and surface water levels, groundwater- surface water exchange, and evapotranspiration by monitoring a research site containing several BDAs
located in Wyoming, USA.

This project represents a collaboration between Syracuse University and
SUNY-ESF, both located in Syracuse, NY and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) of
Wyoming. One PhD student will be hired at SUNY-ESF to work with Dr.
Philippe Vidon (Sustainable Resources Management Department), and the other will be hired at Syracuse University with Dr. Christa Kelleher (Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences). Recruited students will work as a team, spending several weeks pursuing fieldwork together in all weather conditions in stream and wetland environments at remote locations and in relative autonomy during summers. In addition to field work to characterize physical hydrology of the study sites, one student will focus on the application of novel integrated hydrologic models to study BDA impacts on floodplain hydrology, and one student will focus on the use of unoccupied
aerial vehicles to characterize sediment and vegetation response (evapotranspiration and greenness) to BDA installation. The project will involve regular interactions with TNC-WY staff and outreach to local practitioners. As part of their PhDs, the selected candidates will have opportunities of professional development in collaboration with TNC.

If interested, please contact

Dr. Christa Kelleher: ckellehe@syr.edu

Syracuse University, Earth and Environmental Sciences

or

Dr. Philippe Vidon: pgvidon@esf.edu

SUNY-ESF, Sustainable Resources Management

ahead of the application deadline (Jan 15, 2021) with a current CV, information about your interest in pursuing a graduate degree, and research or other relevant experience.