Graduate Research Assistantship in Fisheries (MS or PhD)

Graduate Research Assistantship in Fisheries (MS or PhD)
Location: Princess Anne, MD USA
Company: University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Company URL: http://www.umes.edu/LMRCSC
Salary: $18,000
Closing Date: Thursday, December 31, 2009
Date Posted: Monday, October 19, 2009
Qualifications:
Must be qualified for admission to the University of Maryland MEES Graduate
Program http://www.mees.umd.edu/
•Background in fisheries, marine science, invertebrate zoology, age and
growth studies, statistics
Description:
Biology and Conservation of New England Whelks
•A graduate research assistant is needed to conduct a field and lab study on
age, growth, and reproduction of whelks (Busycotypus sp) in Massachusetts
•The New England whelk (or conch) fishery has expanded rapidly from
bycatch-only to a directed fishery as lobster fishing has declined.
•Whelks are slow growing , late maturing, animals with low fecundity, and
may be protrandrous hermaphrodites, making them extremely susceptible to
overfishing.
•Virtually nothing is known about growth, age, or sexual maturity of whelks
in New England, so current management is based solely on size, season, and
effort restrictions.
•The requirement for bait creates heavy fishing pressure on horseshoe crab
populations, which are already fully exploited in New England.
•Working with fishermen and managers, we will determine growth rates, age
distributions, and size/age of sexual maturity in order to improve the
conservation of Massachusetts whelks in a sustainable manner.
Contact:
Contact Name: Dr. Bradley Stevens
Contact Phone: Not Entered
Contact Email: bgstevens@umes.edu
Other Contact Information: Contact: Dr. Bradley Stevens
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center
Princess Anne, MD 21853
bgstevens@umes.edu
http://www.umes.edu/LMRCSC