Announcement:

1 post-doctoral fellowship and 2 PhD studentships

Starting date: July 2011

Duration: post doc fellowship (36 months), PhD studentships (48 months)

Stipend: The values are determined by the Portuguese FCT and can be found here: http://alfa.fct.mctes.pt/apoios/bolsas/valores

Supervisor: Prof. Miguel Araújo

(Send all the applications to: catedra-biodiversidade@uevora.pt)

Background:

One 3-year post doctoral fellowship – The FCT and the Rui Nabeiro/Delta Biodiversity Chair welcome applications for post doctoral researchers in any topic of conservation biogeography, species-climate modelling, global change biology, macroecology, or numerical ecology. We place a premium on quantitative skills, intellectual creativity, hard work, independence, and a past record of publication in internationally refereed journals.

Two 4-year PhD studentships – The FCT and the Rui Nabeiro/Delta Biodiversity Chair offers 2 PhD studentships. A studentship is offered to students interested in climate-niche modelling of species’ native and naturalized distributions (with supervision from Dr. Regan Early and Prof. Miguel B. Araújo, see appendix I for more details). Another studentship is offered to model the spatio-temporal dynamics of otter (Lutra lutra) distribution in the Iberian Peninsula (with supervision from Dr. A. Márcia Barbosa and Prof. Miguel B. Araújo, see appendix II for more details). Proposals for students addressing topics not listed might be considered as long as they fall within the core interests of the Chair’s researchers.

Research environment:

The post doc and PhD students will be associated with ‘Rui Nabeiro’/Delta Biodiversity Chair at the University of Évora and the students will register as PhD students in Biology at the University of Évora. The 'Rui Nabeiro'/Delta Biodiversity Chair is the first privately sponsored chair in Portugal, with sponsorship provided by DELTA-Cafés. The Chair was established with the aim of promoting a research programme at the forefront of the biodiversity and global change fields. The Chair is part of the CIBIO, which is the Portuguese platform of excellence in biodiversity research and is currently jointly hosted by the Universities of Porto, Azores, and Évora. Students and post docs in the chair will have access to the large international research network and will participate in annual lab retreats held in collaboration with the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) and the University of Copenhagen.

Application:

If you are applying for the post doc, please include a cover letter (in English) explaining why you think you are an adequate candidate for the post, a short CV (please no more than 5 pages), 3-4 pages project, external links to five of your most relevant papers, and the names and contacts of two academics that can provide a reference for you.

Candidates to the PhD studentships are expected to contact the potential supervisors, providing an updated CV, 1 to 3 recommendation letters as well as a brief outline of their research interests in English, before the 9 of May. Shortlisted candidates will then be invited to send a full application that will include up to 10 pages project written according to the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology) rules (http://alfa.fct.mctes.pt/apoios/bolsas/regulamento.phtml.en).

This proposal should be submitted by the 31th May 2011.Notice that according to recent rules set by FCT, only Portuguese citizens or foreigners with permit of residence in Portugal can apply for the PhD studentships. The rule does not apply for post docs that can be of any nationality.