Dr. Karen E. Hodges | Professor, Conservation Biology
Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers
Faculty jobs, another degree, government, non-governmental organization, consulting – Where will your interests take you?
Former trainees in my lab have moved into a variety of positions, some that involve research, others than focus on management or the application or dissemination of scientific information. I am interested in supporting students with a variety of career aspirations, as long as students commit to doing – and disseminating –high quality research for their degrees.
I am committed to supporting a diverse, equitable lab group, and helping to advance the careers of people from groups that are under-represented in ecology and conservation biology. I thus foster discussions in my lab about systemic and implicit bias; inequities in funding, publishing, and citations; and including equity considerations while hiring or building research partnerships.
Expressions of interest from potential postdoctoral fellows are welcome at any time, either in relation to the research topics addressed specifically in these pages or on related topics.
Below, I outline some graduate student positions that are possible in the near future. Potential graduate students interested in working on topics or systems other than those listed below are also welcome to inquire, but please be advised that students are accepted only when adequate funding is in place to support each student’s research. Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply for fellowships and scholarships to support their degree aspirations.
Wildfire and wildlife
This area of research is a major focus of my lab group. I have several projects for which I am recruiting students, with fire size, fire age, fire severity, and post-fire salvage logging as major variables of interest. Projects are likely on small mammals, mesocarnivores, songbirds, and raptors.
Modeling, synthesis, and meta-analysis projects
A major unresolved problem in biogeography is the extent to which densities, survival, and reproduction vary across species’ ranges, let alone the mechanisms driving such variation. This lack of understanding damages efforts to predict range expansions related to climate change. These projects are desk-based, making use of population modeling (e.g. population viability analysis) and spatial analyses. They are ideal for students interested in advancing their modeling skills while addressing questions with direct policy and management implications. Potential topics include range-wide demography, how disturbance (including fire) is incorporated into planning for imperiled species, and ongoing analyses of critical habitat designations for species at risk.
Biology Graduate Program
The Biology Graduate Program offers MSc and PhD degrees in Biology. Most students enrol in September, but January and May admissions are also possible if circumstances warrant. The MSc requires 9 course credits at the graduate level and a research-based thesis. The PhD requires a research-based dissertation, coursework at the discretion of the advisory committee, and some kind of outreach based upon the research topic (e.g. engagement in schools, community groups, government advisory committees). Please visit the UBC Okanagan College of Graduate Studies webpages for more information about graduate studies at UBC Okanagan, including information on how to apply.
People interested in working with me are strongly encouraged to contact me first, prior to applying formally.
Undergraduate students
I anticipate being able to support 1-3 honours projects per year. Please contact me as soon as possible to discuss these opportunities.
Honours Projects (Biol 440). Students who wish to undertake an Honours Project are encouraged to contact me as early as possible with their ideas after having consulted the UBC Okanagan calendar to check whether they meet the requirements. Projects may be undertaken in conjunction with graduate projects or may be entirely separate. I encourage interested students to talk to me in late November-early December, to develop applications to the URA, USRA, or IURA research fellowships that are due in late January each year; these opportunities support summer fieldwork that could be used in an Honours project. Students are encouraged to talk to me as early as the fall of their 3rd year about possibilities, especially if fieldwork is desired as a component of the thesis.
Field or lab assistants. Undergraduate students are regularly hired as field or lab assistants to support the graduate students’ field projects. People hired directly as field assistants do not undertake their own research projects, but they do work closely with other researchers and will learn field and research skills. Most of these positions require people who are comfortable working outside in rugged and remote areas for extended lengths of time.
Directed studies (Biol 452). This course offers students a chance to pursue in depth a topic of their choosing via original research, extensive reading or mathematical modelling, and weekly discussions. A range of topics are possible; former students have examined conservation policy, impacts of heat on wildlife, global amphibian declines, response of wildlife to wildfire, and analysis of movement data.