Graduate Students

I will likely be recruiting students to join the lab in the 2026-2027 academic year. I accept my students through the Graduate Group in Ecology (https://ecology.ucdavis.edu/). Applications are due December 1 2025.

If you are interested, feel free to reach out by sending me an email (dkarp@ucdavis.edu) with an up-to-date CV and a short cover letter letting me know a little bit about your research background and what you broadly hope to work on in graduate school. Also, feel free to visit this webpage to learn more about our lab’s values and expectations of graduate students.

Postdocs

Fellowships

Feel free to contact me if you are interested in doing a postdoc in the Karp Lab. I am happy to support applications to a variety of fellowships, including the Smith Fellowship, the NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, the USDA NIFA Postdoctoral Program, the UC President’s Fellowship Program, and others! I will also post any funded opportunities here as they become available.

Field technicians

Avian Agro-ecology Technician- Barn Owl Noise Study

We are seeking 1-2 seasonal field technicians from mid-March through June 2026,  with possible extension of work until July, to assist PhD student Karen Gallardo Cruz within the Karp Lab at UC Davis on a study examining the effects of tractor noise on barn owls in vineyards. Specifically, our project will explore how farm noise affects the behavior of barn owls and their rodent prey in vineyards. We will experimentally play tractor noise and track its effects on rodent boldness/abundance as well as on owl hunting in vineyards. We will also test an ‘audio lure’ that farmers may use to concentrate owl hunting in problem areas. This project is a collaboration between UC Davis (Karen Gallardo Cruz, Prof. Daniel Karp, Prof. Gail Patricelli), Cal Poly Humboldt (Prof. Matthew Johnson), and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (Prof. Clinton Francis). For a full job add, click here.

Duration: mid-March 2026 through mid-June 2026, with a possible 2-week extension of work until July 2026.

Wage: Approximately $20-$23 per hour depending on prior experience. This is a full-time (40 hours per week), limited-term appointment through the University of California, Davis. Housing will be provided, and the successful applicant will be expected to relocate to the study region for the duration of the appointment.

To apply: Email to Karen Gallardo Cruz (kgallardo@ucdavis.edu) a single document (PDF preferred) with the subject line “Avian agroecology technician” including:

(1) a cover letter describing previous research experience (ideally with birds), interest in this position, description of how you meet the qualifications, and, briefly, why this position fits into your career goals;

(2) a resume or CV;

(3) contact information for two references

Closing date: First review date will be October 15th. Applications afterward will be considered thereafter on a rolling basis until the position is filled.