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Clarkia xantiana ssp.xantiana Clarkia unguiculata

The evolution of mating system, flowering time, and ecophysiological

performance

Volunteer Research Opportunity Available with the Mazer/Dudley/Emms/Verhoeven

research team

Are you a recently graduated Biology or Ecology/Evolution major looking for hands-on research experience

before applying to graduate school?

Are you a first-year Masters or PhD student looking for a research project in evolutionary ecology,

quantitative genetics, or ecophysiology?

Join our research team March July 2013 (or for a significant portion of this time) and gain new skills while

working on a collaborative NSF-funded research project.

We are seeking 2-3 committed and enthusiastic volunteer interns to work with us full time in the southern Sierra

Nevada on an NSF-funded project from March 15 July 15, 2013. Research interns will be closely mentored and

gain hands-on experience in a variety of evolutionary and physiological methods (e.g., measuring gas exchange rates,

chlorophyll fluorescence, and water potential, and estimating plant fitness to evaluate the strength and direction of

natural selection). We will be conducting a labor-intensive field experiment to assess whether natural selection

favoring early flowering (e.g., under increasing drought and shorter growing seasons) may promote the evolution of

selfing due to a developmental and genetic association between the two traits.

We will provide shared housing with other research team members in the Lake Isabella region, but participants will be

expected to pay for their own food and transportation to the site (or to UCSB by March 15). In return, we expect

volunteers to:

(1) be willing to work (cheerfully) in a wide range of weather conditions (daytime temperatures are hot; night

time temperatures are chilly),

(2) participate well in a group setting,

(3) work independently when necessary,

(4) function on occasion! at any time of day or night (we record pre-dawn/night-time measurements),

(5) carry heavy equipment (40-50 pounds),

(6) remain in residence with the research team in Lake Isabella from March 15 July 15, and

(7) contribute to communal cooking.

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Research interns will in turn receive a closely mentored field experience and training in the fields of ecology and

evolution, with a special emphasis on plant physiology. Depending on our progress in our planned field work, we willencourage the development of pilot research projects.

Recreation: The Lake Isabella and Kern River Canyon region is a magnet for eco-adventuring, and a beautiful place

to hike, to kayak, to raft, and to swim during our occasional days off.

Evolutionary Genetics, Ecological and Physiological Research: The Mazer/Dudley lab is investigating the

ecological and physiological causes and consequences associated with the evolution of self-fertilization in a group of

California native wildflower species (in the genus Clarkia). In this genus, the ability to self-fertilize has evolvedmultiple times from insect-dependent, predominantly outcrossing relatives, offering a rare opportunity to study the

evolution of selfing in multiple pairs of sister taxa. Our research group develops and tests a variety of genetic and

ecological predictions and hypotheses concerning the association between self-fertilization and a number of other

traits, including faster photosynthetic rates, early flowering, smaller flowers, rapid flower production, and earlier

senescence.

To Apply: Please send a one- or two-page resum to Dr. Susan Mazer (mazer@lifesci.ucsb.edu) by January 10,

2012, along with a copy of your transcript and the names and email addresses of two or three references. Please

include a letter describing why you are interested in this project and what preparation youve had that might

help you to be an excellent co-worker (Examples: course work in ecology or evolution, organizational skills,

statistical experience, data entry, lab work, camping, wilderness experience, or ecological or botanical field work).

Dr. Mazer and Dr. Dudley will contact you shortly afterwards to arrange a 45-minute interview by Skype to answer

any questions you may have and to determine whether youd be a good match for our research group (and vice versa).

Time Commitment: March 15 July 15, 2013! We expect research team members to be engaged fully in this 16-

week full-time internship throughout its duration. You will emerge from this experience as a trained colleague

with invaluable skills and experience, and with a terrific set of relationships with collaborators, postdocs, and other

undergraduates working in the Mazer lab.

Current Lab Members and Collaborators:

Dr. Susan Mazer, Principal Investigator (mazer@lifesci.ucsb.edu or 893-8011) Dr. Leah Dudley, Post-doc (dudley@lifesci.ucsb.edu) Dr. Chris Ivey, Professor of Biology, CSU Chico, collaborator Dr. Simon Emms, Professor of Biology, University of St. Thomas, collaborator Dr. Amy Verhoeven, Professor of Biology, University of St. Thomas, collaborator Dr. Alisa Hove, Professor of Biology, Warren Wilson College, collaborator Brian Haggerty: PhD Student