GRADUATE STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES!!!!

I am looking for master's and doctoral students to work various aspects of the biology of decapod crustaceans (shrimps, crayfishes, crabs etc): see a short summary of Bauer research interests;

Check out current research of other graduate students working in my lab; look over the UL Biology Department.

One of my current interest is in the reproductive migrations of river shrimps (Macrobrachium ohione). These shrimps apparently migrate from the freshwater river habitat down to coastal bays, where females hatch the larvae, which require saltwater in order to develop.  After larval development, the newly settled juveniles migrate back up the river many kilometers.  We have witnessed this rather spectacular migration.  There are many interesting aspects of this work to be pursued for master's theses and doctoral dissertations. RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIP AVAILABLE BEGINNING JANUARY, MAY, OR AUGUST 2008 for master or doctoral students that qualify and have been accepted.

Recent work has concentrated on an NSF-funded project on hermaphroditic sexual systems in marine shrimps (NSF Grant #9982466), in order to determine how this sexual system has evolved (and why, like protandry, it has not evolved more frequently) (see Bauer, 2006 and related publications). (Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.).

The Project deals with the unusual simultaneous hermaphroditism in cleaner shrimps, Lysmata spp.  These shrimps develop first as males, then change to females, with a "twist."  These "females" retain the male ducts of the male phase and can mate both as males and females.

We are looking into the costs and benefits of sex change in these and other shrimps in order to understand how this and other hermaphroditic sexual systems have evolved in shrimps.   Since the size at which an individual changes sex from a male to a hermaphroditic individual varies greatly, we are investigating how the sexual composition of the population influences the "decision" of when and at what size an individual changes sex.

This work involves field collection and study, time-lapse video observation of mating activities, study on social organization, population biology, and a host of other activities.  These are "fun" interesting animals to work with.

Contact Me to discuss this work and opportunities for graduate study.

ECONOMIC SUPPORT for graduate students comes in the form of teaching or research assistantships.  Both provide a stipend (salary) and a tuition waiver.  Both types of assistantships come with duties that will help prepare the student for professional life as well as help pay the costs of graduate school. Students with outstanding academic records may qualify for fellowships that pay a higher stipend and have no fixed duties, giving the student more time for research.  Contact me about information on all of these opportunities.  We have a great graduate program here at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.