PhD Opportunity in Avian Conservation and Bird-Window Collision Impacts at Carleton University Carleton University in Canada

PhD opportunity in avian conservation at Carleton University for a project on population-level impacts of bird-window collisions in Ottawa, Ontario.

The Biodiversity Conservation Solutions Lab at Carleton University is seeking a PhD student to join a collaborative team working with Safe Wings Ottawa and Environment and Climate Change Canada. The research will examine how bird-window collisions affect avian populations, with the goal of supporting grassroots bird-safe design efforts and informing conservation policy and practice at the federal level.

The student will work on a large-scale study of bird-window collisions, including vulnerability of populations to collision mortality and the use of decision-science frameworks to test the effectiveness of solutions. The project is strongly oriented toward ecology, conservation science, environmental science, geography, spatial modelling, and R-based coding/modelling.

Supervisors: Dr. Rachel Buxton and Dr. Barbara Frei. The post is shared by Stasha Lysyk at Carleton University.

Eligibility highlights: an MSc in ecology, conservation science, environmental science, geography, or a related field; relevant work experience may also be considered; some coding and modelling experience in R; strong research, leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills; enthusiasm and kindness; and an interest in making a positive impact for people and nature. Spatial modelling is desirable.

Funding: funded PhD position. Start date: preferably September 2026, with flexibility to start in January 2027.

How to apply: applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Email a letter of interest, CV, contact details for three references, and university transcripts (unofficial accepted) to the listed contacts, and use the subject line Bird Window Collisions application.