[meetyeti] Fwd: SRF Position Available: Research and Monitoring in the Banni LandscapE

From: Robin Vijayan <robinvijayan@xxxxxxxxx>
To: meetyeti@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:23:54 +0530

From: "Mahesh Sankaran" <mahesh@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Request
Date: June 11, 2013 8:52:27 AM GMT+05:30
To: robinvijayan@xxxxxxxxx
Reply-To: mahesh@xxxxxxxxxxx

SRF Position Available: Research and Monitoring in the Banni LandscapE (RAMBLE) 
(www.bannigrassland.org)
We are looking for a SRF for a project investigating the structure and dynamics 
of faunal and floral communities in the Banni grassland ecosystem, Gujarat.  
The Banni, in western India, is Asia’s largest tropical grassland and home to a 
rich array of biodiversity. It is also a unique bio-cultural landscape with a 
450-year old history of pastoralism.  The Banni today faces a host of 
challenges including an extreme and variable climate, and the invasion of 
grasslands by Prosopis juliflora.  

Understanding and predicting the response of the Banni Grasslands to invasions 
and future changes in climate requires detailed data on spatial and temporal 
patterns of abundance, distribution and diversity of taxa.  The SRF will be 
responsible for coordinating and setting up long-term monitoring programs for 
multiple taxa across the Banni landscape.  This will include setting up and 
monitoring of vegetation plots, establishing experiments to look at the effects 
of herbivory and Prosopis invasion on plant and animal communities, and the 
monitoring of carnivore communities using camera traps and track plots.  In 
addition, he/she will also be responsible for liaising with multiple 
institutions and stakeholders including the Forest Department, Banni Breeders 
Association, as well as local communities.  Finally, he/she will also be 
required to help facilitate the work of other student researchers affiliated 
with the RAMBLE project.

The work is part of a larger multi-institutional initiative investigating the 
patterns and processes underlying complex ecological and social dynamics in 
arid pastoral ecosystems. The project is jointly implemented by the Ashoka 
Trust for Research in Ecology & the Environment, Bangalore (ATREE), National 
Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore (NCBS-TIFR), Sahajeevan, Bhuj & 
Ambedkar University, New Delhi.  

The SRF will be expected to spend a considerable amount of time in the field, 
often under trying logistical conditions.  Minimum qualifications include:

1)   A Master’s degree in the life sciences,

2)   Good plant identification skills, and basic statistical and data 
management skills. GIS skills are desirable.

3)   Previous field experience (minimum 2 years)

4)   Ability to drive a 2-wheeler and 4-wheeler with valid driver’s license

5)   Fluent in English and Hindi. Ability to converse in Gujarati/Kutchhi is a 
plus.

Salary will be commensurate with experience. The position is initially for one 
year, but renewable for an additional year. The SRF will be associated with 
ATREE-Bangalore, but based at the RAMBLE field station in Hodka Banni, and will 
be required to travel periodically to Bangalore & New Delhi to interact with 
the principal investigators of the project. Interested candidates should send 
their CV and names and contacts of two referees to banniresearch@xxxxxxxxx.  We 
will start reviewing applications on 25th June and continue until a suitable 
candidate is found.

>
[meetyeti] Fwd: SRF Position Available: Research and Monitoring in the Banni LandscapE

Other related posts:
