Opportunities

Opportunities to join the O'Connor Lab

Open positions - 1 PhD position

PhD Position in Aquatic Ecology and Metabolic Scaling in O’Connor Lab, UBC

The position: We are recruiting a PhD student to join our research program on temperature dependence of ecological processes. This research program aims to advance ecological understanding by using theory and experiments to test hypotheses in areas of population and community ecology. We are seeking an enthusiastic and motivated student keen to learn the concepts, tools and techniques of the fields of aquatic ecology, metabolic ecology and community ecology.

Our group: We are a collaborative team, including researchers at all levels (undergraduate to advanced post-doctoral researchers). Our research focuses on change in ecological systems, with a focus on seagrass and coastal ecology, and metabolic scaling research. Our group is located in the Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre at UBC, in Vancouver. We are committed to a supportive and inclusive environment for learning, growth and science.

Qualifications: The PhD program is a time of learning, growth and developing one’s own project within the resources and support systems available. We are recruiting someone who meets the following criteria:

Curious, inquisitive, and willing to pursue ideas
Basic experience and skills with R or similar coding for graphics and analysis
Undergraduate coursework in ecology, biology, and aquatic ecology (or willingness to fill gaps early in PhD)
Experience with publication of scientific research, as coauthor, lead author, or contributor
Is familiar with the academic system and can articulate a clear purpose for pursuing a PhD
Research experience in a lab or field setting related to ecology or environmental science
Love of reading, learning, and sharing knowledge through discussion, writing and questioning
Willingness to apply for funding to support research and stipend

Salary: $40K CAD per year. Salary will be met by a combination of TA positions, Fellowships (applied for by student) and PI research grants. 5-year salary will be committed upon acceptance to the program.

Start date of the PhD program: Sept 1 2025.

Location: Based in Vancouver, BC, at the University of British Columbia in the Biodiversity Research Centre.

Supervisor: Mary O’Connor, in the Department of Zoology (UBC) and Biodiversity Research Centre.

To apply: Please submit a cover letter explaining motivation and summarizing qualifications to Mary O’Connor ([email protected]). Include a CV and an example of scientific writing.
We will review applications in November 2024, and continue until we identify a successful candidate.

References of work out of this theme of our research that this PhD position builds upon:

Stark, KA, Clegg, T., Bernhardt, J. R., Grainger, T. N., Kempes, C. P., Savage, V., O’Connor, M.I. and Pawar, S. In Press. Towards a Dynamic Metabolic Theory of Ecology to predict climate change effects on biological systems. The American Naturalist.

Sunday, J. M., J. R. Bernhardt, C. D. G. Harley, M. I. O’Connor. 2024. Temperature dependence of competitive ability differs from that of growth rate. Ecology Letters 27(1): e14337.

Slein, M., J. Bernhardt, M. I. O’Connor, S. Fey. 2023. Thermal fluctuations during acclimation and acute conditions alter multiscale biological processes: a meta-analysis. Proceedings of the Royal Society – B. 290: 20222225.

Kirk, D., M. I. O’Connor and E. A. Mordecai. 2022. Scaling effects of temperature on parasitism from individuals to populations. Journal of Animal Ecology. 91(10): 2087-2102.

Siegle, M. R., R. B. Taylor, M. I. O’Connor. 2022. Heat Wave Intensity Drives Sublethal Reproductive Costs in a Tidepool Copepod. Integrative and Organismal Biology 4(1):obac005.

Fey, S.B., D. A. Vasseur, K. Alujevic, K. J. Kroeker, M. L. Logan, J. P. DeLong, M. I. O’Connor, S. Peacor, V. H. W. Rudolf, R. L. Selden, A. Sih, S. Clusella-Trullas. 2019. Opportunities for Behavioral Rescue Under Rapid Environmental Change. Global Change Biology 25: 3110-3120.
Garzke, J., S. J. Connor, U. Sommer, and M. I. O’Connor. 2019. Food chain length modifies the effect of temperature on ecosystems. PLoS Biology 17(6): e2006806.

Bernhardt, J. R., J. M. +Sunday, P. L. Thompson, and M. I. O’Connor. 2018. Nonlinear averaging of thermal experience predicts population growth rates in a thermally variable environment. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London-B 285: 20181076

Bernhardt, J. R., J. M. Sunday, and M. I. O’Connor. 2018. Metabolic theory and the temperature size rule explain the temperature dependence of population carrying capacity. The American Naturalist 192(6): 687-697.

General Information

Summer Undergraduate Research Positions

We typically have 3-4 undergraduates in the lab who participate in research in several capacities. If these are of interest, please contact Mary ([email protected]) with a brief statement of your interests, availability, and personal goals for undertaking a research experience. Typically we interview in Jan/Feb for USRA and in March or August for Work learns.

Volunteers. Volunteers are often seeking experience to build their CV for research positions later. So they need to learn 1-2 (or more) skills, and experience in the research process. These positions are between 4 - 10 hours / week (negotiated in advance), unpaid, and tasks are clearly defined: feeding animals, sorting samples, measuring temperatures, etc.
Work-learn. These positions are paid (20 hours per week in the summer, 10 in the fall), and current or recent students are eligible. We have 1-2 positions available each term. Summer positions are posted on UBC careers online in March, and winter positions are posted in August.
Directed studies. This can be 3 or 6 credits, and is an independent research project (designed in collaboration with Mary or a current graduate student or postdoc to fit with ongoing research efforts). These are not paid, but can be done with work-learn (not overlapping hours, but in addition to).
NSERC USRA. This is a full time, paid, 1/2 technician and 1/2 time for research (e.g., for an honours project and/or contribution to an ongoing lab experiment). This requires a departmental competition and high GPA. Min 86% to be considered, and ~87 or higher to be competitive.

Prospective Graduate Students

If you’re interested in applying to work with me, here is an overview of my expectations, and what I will explore as we chat about grad school:

You have done research and have some written product. Could be a report or thesis, but ideally is co-authorship on a paper.
You can articulate why you want to go to grad school, why you want to join my group, and what are your thoughts for after grad school.
You can discuss one or two research problems that really interest you and that you have thought about.
You can work independently yet also can be an active contributor to our lab group.

Please email your CV, transcripts, and a statement of your research interests to [email protected].

If you are looking for more information about grad school in general, please check out this blog post on "The unwritten rules of getting in and getting on in grad school".

Prospective Postdocs

In Canada most postdoc funding comes through fellowships awarded to the postdoc (rather than supervisor funds). I’ve included some links below, and most of these have provided support for postdocs to join my group over the last few years. These postdoctoral fellowships open to candidates of any nationality. If you think you might be a good fit for one of these to work with my group, please contact me and we can discuss a proposal.

Killam Postdoctoral Fellowships
Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships
UBC Biodiversity Postdoc
UBC Ocean Leaders program
Bamfield Postdoctoral Fellowships (advertised when available)
Liber Ero Fellowship

See our Lab Culture page for more details on what it's like to be in the O'Connor lab.