Dr. Onja Razafindratsima’s research group is seeking a Malagasy field ecologist in a Master’s degree program in Plant Ecology in Madagascar. The student will assist in a research project in the rainforests of Ranomafana National Park and its surroundings, in the southeastern part of Madagascar and conduct their Master’s thesis on a topic related to the main project.
Main Project: Cascading impacts of landscape structure on forest regeneration
Project description: This project aims to investigate the direct and indirect effects of landscape structure on trait-mediated seed dispersal by animal frugivores in regenerating tropical forests in anthropogenic landscapes. It will examine how landscape properties, such as habitat amount, fragmentation and matrix quality affect seed community diversity directly and through its indirect effects on the community of animal seed dispersers, ultimately affecting the recovery of seed assemblages and regeneration.
Possible Master thesis topic: the specific topic will be developed with the student, depending on their interests, but could include one of the following:
Qualifications and skills
o Background in ecology as demonstrated by an ability to understand and explain different ecological concepts
o Basic knowledge of data entry in Excel
o High motivation to do fieldwork and learn new things
o Willingness to hike long hours and camp in a forest with minimal infrastructure, sometimes under harsh environmental conditions (cold and rain are common)
o Excellent teamwork ability
o Ability to be flexible with unforeseen circumstances
o Excellent written communication
o Proficient in conversational English
o Knowledge of the research permit process in Madagascar
o General knowledge of Madagascar’s wildlife and botany
o Basic knowledge of R, ArcGIS and/or QGIS
Duties, responsibilities
The assistant will report directly to Dr. Onja Razafindratsima and Dr. Kerry Brown.
Workload and timeline: Fieldwork working days and times often differ from traditional office hours; but accommodation will be made to grant breaks and make-up excess work during field expeditions. Fieldwork will start in late May or early June 2025 and may last for up to six months.
Learning opportunities
Application process: Email to Dr. Onja Razafindratsima at onja(at)berkeley(dot)edu, with the subject: “Plant Ecology MSc” as a single document in pdf format (in English, French or Malagasy) by Jan 28, 2025:
Main Project: Cascading impacts of landscape structure on forest regeneration
Project description: This project aims to investigate the direct and indirect effects of landscape structure on trait-mediated seed dispersal by animal frugivores in regenerating tropical forests in anthropogenic landscapes. It will examine how landscape properties, such as habitat amount, fragmentation and matrix quality affect seed community diversity directly and through its indirect effects on the community of animal seed dispersers, ultimately affecting the recovery of seed assemblages and regeneration.
Possible Master thesis topic: the specific topic will be developed with the student, depending on their interests, but could include one of the following:
- Investigating taxonomic and functional diversity along a successional gradient;
- Investigating vegetation variation in successional stages along a successional gradient.
Qualifications and skills
- Required
o Background in ecology as demonstrated by an ability to understand and explain different ecological concepts
o Basic knowledge of data entry in Excel
o High motivation to do fieldwork and learn new things
o Willingness to hike long hours and camp in a forest with minimal infrastructure, sometimes under harsh environmental conditions (cold and rain are common)
o Excellent teamwork ability
o Ability to be flexible with unforeseen circumstances
o Excellent written communication
- Preferred
o Proficient in conversational English
o Knowledge of the research permit process in Madagascar
o General knowledge of Madagascar’s wildlife and botany
o Basic knowledge of R, ArcGIS and/or QGIS
Duties, responsibilities
- Assist with permit applications and report preparation & submission
- Data collection and management
- Facilitate communication with the field team
- Purchase and care for equipment and supplies (inventory, clean, organize)
- Oversee field activities performed by local technicians and guides
- Keep a record of field expenses as needed
- Assist with translation of some documents into Malagasy
The assistant will report directly to Dr. Onja Razafindratsima and Dr. Kerry Brown.
Workload and timeline: Fieldwork working days and times often differ from traditional office hours; but accommodation will be made to grant breaks and make-up excess work during field expeditions. Fieldwork will start in late May or early June 2025 and may last for up to six months.
Learning opportunities
- Opportunity to be mentored by an international, multidisciplinary, team of scientists
- Develop/improve techniques commonly used in field ecology
- Hone skills in data analyses, preparing technical reports and disseminating science
- Develop skills in landscape ecology, including measuring landscape properties, creating land cover classification, spatial analyses in ArcGIS
- Share research findings in scientific publications and presentations at conferences
Application process: Email to Dr. Onja Razafindratsima at onja(at)berkeley(dot)edu, with the subject: “Plant Ecology MSc” as a single document in pdf format (in English, French or Malagasy) by Jan 28, 2025:
- your most recent CV;
- a cover letter with an overview of your qualifications, skills and interests with a brief description of the topic you would like to pursue for your Master thesis.