Dr. Karen E. Hodges  |  Professor, Conservation Ecology

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.

Specific current PhD Position: Canada Lynx Ecology in Burned Landscapes of the North Cascades, Washington, to start Sept 2024. (apply by Dec 11)

Lynx are specialist predators on snowshoe hares and are typically found in mature forests. As wildfires have increased dramatically over the last 2 decades, much of the former “lynx habitat” in Washington has burned, resulting in a radically different landscape for lynx.  The PhD student will examine the links between landscape change, fuels, other predators, and predator-prey interactions of lynx, primarily using data from an extensive camera array, but with some access to a GPS radio-telemetry dataset. The student will be expected to tackle theoretical and applied questions related to lynx ecology, behaviour, and habitat use, making advances in both fundamental research and the science-policy interface.  The work is collaborative with Carmen Vanbianchi and the non-profit Home Range Wildlife Research (homerange.org), with extensive engagement with US Fish and Wildlife Service and US Forest Service.

REQUIRED Qualifications:

Completion of a MSc in a related field

Publication(s) or having manuscripts in review

Experience working on field research projects

A valid driver’s license

Knowledge of GIS and statistics (e.g., R), and

Experience with at least one of predator ecology or camera-trapping research

Please email both Carmen Vanbianchi <carmen@homerange.org> AND Karen Hodges karen.hodges@ubc.ca a single PDF [formatted as: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME.pdf] that includes: (1) 1-2 page cover letter indicating i) past experiences in field ecology and research, ii) your reasons for wishing to pursue a PhD, and iii) your anticipated fit with the PIs; (2) a current CV; (3) copies of undergraduate and graduate transcripts [unofficial is fine]; (4) contact information for 3 references. Please use the subject header “lynx PhD Application”. For full consideration, please submit this package no later than December 11, 2023.

Other positions, flexible timing

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.  I anticipate start dates of fall 2024 through fall 2026 for these positions.

1. Snowshoe hare foraging ecology, nutrition, and energetics in post-fire landscapes (PhD).  This position will have a big focus on post-fire heterogeneity and the variable foraging landscape available to hares.

2. Hares and meso-predators in fires of different sizes, with and without post-fire salvage logging (PhD).  This project will use fires in the southern interior of BC, examining fires from 50 ha to >200,000 ha, exploring post-fire heterogeneity as a major driver of how the animals are able to use the post-fire areas.

Other field projects

1. Riparian areas as thermal refugia for songbirds (MSc).  Global night-time temperatures are increasing faster than day-time temperatures, affecting thermoregulatory costs for both nocturnal and diurnal birds.  This project will combine auditory records, nest searches, and temperature records to examine songbird behaviour and nest success in relation to temperature and habitat.
2.  If students have their own ideas or partnerships for field-based projects, I would happily explore options for whether I could support such projects.

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.

1. Range-wide demographic analysis of selected mammal species.  This student will select several Canadian mammal species then collate demographic data (densities, survival, reproduction, dispersal) from the literature from across the species’ ranges.  The student will address how variable vital rates are in space and time, and will build population models for each species using the collated data to project population growth rates and to estimate missing vital rates.
2. Meta-analysis on range shifts.  Climate change is inducing many range shifts, both expansions and contractions.  At present, our ability to predict what any given species or peripheral population will do is quite limited.  The student on this project will use species’ traits, environmental and climatic variables, habitat variables, and demographic information to model range-edge dynamics (expand, contract, stay stable).  The focus will be on Canadian mammals and reptiles.
3. Critical habitat designations.  I have on-going interests in how the US Endangered Species Act and Canadian Species at Risk Act are implemented.  I foresee an opening for a student to review recent critical habitat designations in both countries, especially in relation to how disturbances are incorporated during decision-making.

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 12 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 multiple honours projects for Sept 2024-April 2025.  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 January 2024; these opportunities would 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.