Speaking as a daily lurker on this site, its been about 5 months since the last new conservation biology PhD came along... and the grape vine informs me that that was already ear marked for someone before being advertised.
Is there anyone on here doing a PhD in a similar field and how did they find out about it? From this site? Word of mouth?

I suppose I should return to the shadows... ceaseless vigilance.

It can be pretty tough getting a studentship. As I've mentioned on here before, I got my PhD position not by responding to an advert but by approaching the department directly, getting to know some of the staff and seeing how things developed from there. When positions did come up I was already well known to the dept which made my position very strong (and ultimately successful).

I can't emphasis enough how important it is to talk to potential supervisors BEFORE submitting an application. Good luck with it. Where there' a will, there's a way!

Hi Dreamsphere! Yes its a tricky one really, as you want to be general enough to actually find a project, whilst still ensuring its something thats going to fascinate you for the next three years. Ideally something with an ornithological slant would be great so its a case of keep scouring! Really glad to know I'm not alone though. Whats your ideal area?
I've resigned myself to the fact I'll not find anything this year and am going to start a MRes. Fingers crossed it will all work out, but my post was prompted by all this amazingly depressing reading I've been doing on conservation biology and how a) I'll NEVER get a job, and b) If i do, I'll be living off a bread crust for the rest of my life in a tent with a hole in it, have wild hair and a strange lingering smell. Lots of people seem to think that a PhD won't help much, maybe a slightly more roomy tent???

In terms of PhDs, future earning power depends on the usefulness of that subject to industry/commerce etc. For many PhDs (mine and your area for instance), the rule of thumb is that undergraduate and Masters degrees give you good earning potential, but a PhD then reduces that earning potential. I'm a career changer heading out of commerce into academia knowing full well that it will be years before I make it back to my current wages. But then I'll be doing what I love and life is, after all, too short.

I got into my PhD in conservation biology by taking a low paid job at a research institute and casually mentioned that I wanted to do a PhD, and before I know it, I was! I know it was a case of right place, right time, and I was very lucky, but making the right contacts was the most critical factor. I had to work on low pay and doing immmensly dull stuff for a couple of years but it paid off. Keep trying all avenues regularly and you will get there! Good Luck.