Natural Resources Job Board

 

Graduate Assistantships: Mussel Ecology – Texas A&M University 

 

We are seeking highly motivated and hardworking students with a strong passion for the conservation of freshwater ecosystems to join the NRI Mussel Lab. Up to two graduate assistantships (MS or PhD) are available under the supervision of Dr. Charles Randklev and Dr. Roel Lopez in the Texas A&M Natural Resource Institute and the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management. These assistantships will focus on evaluating emersion tolerance to inform environmental flow (eflow) recommendations and developing/ground truthing predictive occupancy models for freshwater mussels. Projects will integrate laboratory and field-based approaches, including controlled experiments to quantify species-specific tolerance to desiccation and temperature stress, and field surveys to assess mussel occurrence across hydrologic and habitat gradients. Students will work with environmental and hydrologic datasets to identify thresholds and drivers of mussel persistence, with the goal of linking physiological limits to flow management and conservation planning in Texas river systems. 

 

Position Location: Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Dallas. 

 

Funding: support for these projects come from state and federal natural resource agencies. 

 

For the PhD assistantship a full stipend (grant funded Research Assistantship) for 4 years will be provided: ~$35,000/yr (tuition + salary; ~$9,000 per year + $26,000). 

 

For the MS assistantships a full stipend (grant funded Research Assistantship) for 2 years will be provided: ~$32,000/yr (~$9,000 + $23,000). 

 

Additional scholarship and funding opportunities may be available.  

 

Start Date: Spring 2027 for classes but can begin working on research project in Summer/Fall of 2026. 

 

Last Date to Apply: 010/1/2026. 

 

More information about the graduate program in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management -  https://rwfm.tamu.edu/graduate-programs/ 

More information about the mussel research program at NRI-TAMU: https://dallas.tamu.edu/research/mussels/ 

 

Qualifications: 

Required:  For PhD assistantship – MS in Biology or related field; previous research experience in environmental modeling and statistics; GPA >3.5; GRE scores >70th percentile (156 verbal and 159 quantitative). PADI, or equivalent, SCUBA certification. For MS assistantship – BS in Biology or related field; previous research experience in aquatic ecology, community ecology, or ecotoxicology; GPA >3.0; GRE scores > 60th percentile (153 verbal and 156 quantitative). 

 All applicants should have strong analytical, oral, and written communication skills, plus detail oriented and can work independently; valid driver’s license and insurance are required; must be comfortable in the water and outdoors in both the heat and cold. 

 

Before applying, please email a single PDF document to BOTH Dr. Randklev (crandklev@ag.tamu.edu) AND Dr. Lopez (roel.lopez@ag.tamu.edu) that contains: (1) a letter of interest describing your qualifications, experience and background, and which position you are applying to (2) your CV, (3) GRE scores, (4) GPA and unofficial transcripts, and (5) contact information for 3 academic/research references. Feel free to contact us for more information about the graduate program, our research, and specifics about the project.