NSF-IGERT Doctoral Program At Texas A&M University
The Applied Biodiversity Science Program at Texas A&M trains doctoral students from the natural and social sciences in applied, interdisciplinary research to address conservation issues in Latin America.
The vision of the Applied Biodiversity Science Program is to integrate biodiversity research and on-the- ground conservation practices.
Three pillars of Applied Biodiversity Science: 1.Research in natural and social sciences; 2.Research and collaboration with conservation institutions and actors in the field; 3.Application of conservation theory to practice.
Research teams of students and faculty collaborate with international partners in one of four regions of Latin America.
Research teams develop complementary dissertations related to two themes: Ecological Functions and Biodiversity Communities and Governance
ABS Doctoral Program Interdisciplinary graduate curriculum Seminar series and journal club Internships at host country institutions
ABS Doctoral Program Amazon field school Annual research conference Cross-cultural leadership training
ABS Doctoral Program NSF-IGERT Traineeships available $30,000 plus $10,500 toward cost of education Support for field research
To Apply… 1.Review the ABS website 2.Contact associated faculty members you would be interested in working with 3.Submit departmental application (deadlines vary) 4.Submit application for the NSF-IGERT Traineeship by the deadline.
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Dr. Kirk Winemiller Dept. Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Research Interests: Dynamics of fluvial and estuarine ecosystems; Biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of natural resources; Trophic ecology and food web theory; Regulation of fish populations and community structure in rivers and steams.
Dr. Mariana Mateos Dept. Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Research Interests: Host-symbiont evolution of Drosophila flies and their endosymbiotic bacteria; Phylogeography (particularly of Mexico); Evolution of asexual fish.
Dr. Thomas E. Lacher, Jr. Dept. Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Research Interests: Biodiversity monitoring; Global patterns of biodiversity (mammals); Conservation planning and prioritization; Tropical ecology and conservation; Long-term trends in biodiversity indicators
Dr. Jane Packard Dept. Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Research Interests: Communities surrounding protected areas and species; Transboundary conservation (Mexico/USA); Engaging communities in biodiversity inventory; Network analysis
Dr. Luis Hurtado Dept. Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Research Interests: Population and conservation genetics; Molecular systematics; Genomics; Evolution; Phylogeography of Gulf of Mexico & Gulf of California
Dr. Amanda Stronza Dept. Recreation, Parks & Tourism Research Interests: Environmental anthropology; Political ecology; Community- based conservation, Ecotourism; Tourism and ethnicity; Protected areas in the tropics; Participatory research
Dr. Michael Alvard Department of Anthropology Research Interests: Evolutionary approaches to human behavior; Cooperation; Subsistence strategies; Culture; Fishing cultures in Dominica.
Dr. Christian Brannstrom Department of Geography Research Interests: Nature- Society relations, in particular the historical geography of environment and resource management in Brazil and Latin America cbra
Dr. Andrew Millington Department of Geography Research Interests: Deforestation and forest fragmentation; Remote sensing; Land use/cover change impacts on ecology/conservation in tropics/sub tropics; Coca cultivation and biodiversity in Latin America; Development, woodland change and biodiversity in the Chaco.
Dr. Wendy Jepson Department of Geography Research Interests: Water and land resources; Political ecology; Environmental governance; US-Mexico Border and Mexico; Institutions.
Dr. Will Heyman Department of Geography Research Interests: Marine ecosystem conservation and management; Physical- biological coupling; Ecology of reef fishes
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