We are seeking a Master’s student to begin Fall 2020 for a project on blue and fin whale biology and Antarctic historical ecology. This project will use an archive of baleen plates from Antarctic blue and fin whales harvested in the mid 1940s that was recently rediscovered in the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. A suite of modern molecular techniques will be applied to these archived specimens to ask how blue and fin whale foraging and reproduction responded to climate variability, changes at the base of the food web, and whaling activities in the early 1940s. Methods will include bulk stable isotope analysis, compound-specific stable isotope analyses (CSIA-AA), and hormone analysis. The student will be based at the University of North Carolina Wilmington under the supervision of Dr. Alyson Fleming and collaborate with Drs. Ari Friedlaender and Matt McCarthy (UC Santa Cruz) and Dr. Kathleen Hunt (George Mason University). The student will do extensive museum specimen work, subsampling, and lab work. After an initial period of training and supervision, the student will be expected to operate independently on lab work. We are looking for candidates who are very detail oriented, extremely organized, careful, can work with peers and senior students, and are happy to work independently. Previous lab work and database management strongly preferred. MS students at UNCW are supported on teaching assistantships during the academic year and will be supported by grant funding during the summer months. Out of state tuition waivers are typically available to reduce costs. Interested candidates should send a CV/resume, cover letter, and unofficial transcripts to Dr. Fleming at FlemingA@uncw.edu as soon as possible.