About the Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory, University of Florida: In 1996, using a surplus building from the National Weather Service, an adjacent fish farm that was for sale, and seed funding from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), the University of Florida Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory (TAL) in Ruskin was created. Hillsborough County provided clerical help, the Florida Tropical Fish Farms Association (FTFFA) funded a veterinarian and disease lab, and United States
We are currently seeking applicants for a three-year, PhD research assistantship investigating production methods for clownfish.
Description: Clownfish are one of the most popular marine aquarium fish and their aquaculture is a major contributor to the income of commercial ornamental fish farms. Although clownfish have been in culture for over 30 years, bottlenecks in broodstock spawning, larval rearing, and juvenile growout are still experienced by commercial producers. The successful applicant will address major data gaps in the culture of Amphiprion ocellaris by utilizing basic science techniques including stress physiology, digestive physiology, and transcriptomics, to gain a mechanistic understanding of production bottlenecks while developing applied solutions for commercial producers.
Location: This position will be located at the University of Florida’s Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory, a fully equipped research and extension center located in Ruskin, Florida. The facility includes 5 greenhouses, 50 earthen ponds, a climate-controlled hatchery, and a full-service disease diagnostic laboratory. The terminal degree will be awarded through the Program in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences in the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences.
Start: January 1, 2023 (spring semester)
Program: Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
Deadline: October 21, 2022 or as soon as a suitable candidate is identified
Salary: $22,753/year + benefits
Qualifications:
•M.S. degree in aquaculture or related discipline
•Demonstrated research experience and peer-reviewed publication history
•Experience with marine aquaculture and recirculating aquaculture systems is highly desirable
•Excellent verbal and written communication skills, familiarity with biochemical assays and molecular techniques is desirable, but not required
Application: Interested applicants should submit the following documents as a single pdf or word file via email to Dr. Matthew DiMaggio, (mdimaggi@ufl.edu) by the October 21, 2022 deadline.
•Cover letter summarizing interest in the position, qualifications and experience, as well as research and career aspirations
•Curriculum Vitae
•Unofficial academic transcripts
•Unofficial GRE scores if available
•Names and contact information for three professional references
Final candidates will be contacted and required to submit formal applications to the University of Florida graduate school by November 1, 2022. For further admission information please visit https://ffgs.ifas.ufl.edu/academics/apply/ or contact Amy Abernethy (aabner@ufl.edu), academic coordinator for graduate programs.