Description: Adaptive management is a process that relies on monitoring relevant indicators, using results from monitoring efforts to inform decisions, and integrating resulting decisions into the scientific process to improve management outcomes. Virtual fencing (VF) is an emerging technology for managing livestock in rangelands, offering opportunities to implement adaptive management techniques that can promote rangeland recovery and enhance landscape diversity and resilience. The adaptability of VF may enable more effective management of grazing animals in the absence of physical infrastructure (i.e., fences), which can be particularly beneficial in extensive rangeland systems where traditional methods can be unfeasible due to financial or spatial constraints. By monitoring livestock distributions using tracking collars and VF systems, managers can better understand grazing patterns and implement exclusion measures to better meet management objectives while simultaneously allowing researchers to determine indicators of rangeland recovery that may inform adaptive management decisions. Yet, systematic data informing these indicators are limited, challenging managers looking to adaptively exclude livestock as areas reach targeted thresholds of grazing intensity while promoting utilization in rested areas.

We are seeking a dynamic, self-motivated Ph.D. student to conduct research on cutting-edge rangeland management strategies implementing adaptive exclusion practices through VF technologies to meet production and conservation objectives on large-scale working ranches in South Texas. The successful candidate will 1) work alongside ranch scientists and staff to establish VF grazing treatments and monitor rangeland recovery indicators across multiple years, 2) integrate novel remote sensing technologies (i.e., unmanned aerial systems, phenocams, etc.) to develop and refine systematic indicators of rangeland recovery to inform adaptive management decisions, and 3) analyze livestock performance and movement data in relation to these VF grazing treatments. The successful applicant will also be encouraged to work with their graduate committee to develop one or more independent research questions within the umbrella of the study’s deliverables. This position is funded through the Hildebrand Foundation and will work with a highly collaborative team composed of scientists from the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute (https://www.ckwri.tamuk.edu/), The East Foundation (https://eastfoundation.net/), and Oklahoma State University (https://agriculture.okstate.edu/departments-programs/natural-resource). The successful applicant will be co-advised by Drs. Evan Tanner (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=8t3ELg0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra) and Sam Fuhlendorf (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=I9vC6ycAAAAJ&hl=en).  We expect the student to present findings at international and regional scientific conferences and publish manuscripts in internationally recognized peer-reviewed journals. This is a fully funded 4-year position. 

Location: Successful applicants will pursue a degree in Wildlife and Rangeland Sciences at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK).  The Institute is a research unit of the university, with 18 scientists and >60 M.S. and Ph.D. students. TAMUK has an enrollment of about 8,000 and is located in Kingsville, TX, a city of about 26,000 in the south coastal plains.  Kingsville is surrounded by the historic King Ranch and is about 40 miles south of Corpus Christi, TX.  Field research will be conducted near the Rio Grande Valley approximately 120 minutes south of Kingsville.  

Qualifications: Required:  B.S. and M.S. degrees in ecology, wildlife science, natural resources, range science, forestry, biology, or related fields. Prior experience in rangeland ecology and management would be helpful but not required.  Preferred: background and interest in applied rangeland management and landscape ecology.  Competitive applicants will have good quantitative skills and a track record of publishing. A strong work ethic, good verbal and written communication skills, professionalism, ability to work independently and as a productive member of a research team, and ability to work under adverse field conditions are essential. Students must have a minimum 3.0 GPA (>3.5 GPA in graduate course work). 

Anticipated start date: Fall 2026 Semester