Travis Belote
Assistant Professor
I'm a landscape ecologist and conservation scientist interested in all the work described here.
(406) 581-3808
Rizzo
Lab mascot
I am a complicated but loving dog.
Maybe you.
PhD Student
OPEN POSITION!
I am recruiting a PhD student to start in the Department of Ecology at Montana State University in January 2026. The student will have support through a teaching assistantship for at least 2.5 years, and we will work together to secure additional funding. Dissertation research can cover a range of topics within the realm of landscape ecology, forest or rangeland ecology, land management and conservation planning, disturbance ecology, biological invasions, biogeography, or macroecology. I spent 16 years with a conservation NGO (The Wilderness Society) and am just starting to build my lab at Montana State University. I’m looking for a student that: (1) is interested in working at the interface of basic and applied ecology, (2) has spatial analysis skills, and (3) possesses an insatiable curiosity to understand nature at different spatial scales. The teaching assistantship will provide a stipend of ~$2,200 to $2,500 per month and a tuition waiver.
Interested students should send me (1) a brief personal statement (no more than one page) detailing your academic background and previous research experience, reasons for pursuing graduate school, your specific current research interests, (2) a full CV, and (3) names and contact information for 3 academic or professional references. I will begin reviewing materials on October 6, 2025. I highly recommend looking over my publications to ensure my experience matches your research interests.
The Department of Ecology at Montana State University is part of the College of Letters and Science. The department maintains ties with the Montana Institute on Ecosystems, and the Departments of Mathematical Sciences, Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Plant Science and Plant Pathology, and Animal and Range Sciences. Collaborating resource agencies include Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the USGS Northern Rockies Science Center (both headquartered near campus), Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, the Custer-Gallatin National Forest (and many others).