The ‘Rui Nabeiro’ Biodiversity Chair and the Applied Population and Community Ecology Research Group (CIBIO, University of Évora) is opening calls for 1 research assistant fellowship.
Starting date: April 2013
Duration: 24 months
Location: University of Évora, Portugal
Stipend: EUR 1495 per month plus social security. The stipend value is free from taxation
Project Leader: Dr Regan Early
Application deadline: February 15th 2013
Position overview:
A post-doctoral researcher is required to participate in the European Biodiversa project ‘European Conservation for the 21st Century’. The post-doc will be responsible for improving Species Distribution Models (SDMs) for thousands of European species by incorporating species’ vegetation and land-use associations and removing errors induced by spatial autocorrelation. The post-doc will collaborate with other project members to project the climate paths along which the ranges of European species will shift throughout the 21st Century. This will involve integrating Species Distribution Models with Dynamic Vegetation Models (DVMs) and species dispersal kernels. The post-doc will assist in the design of habitat corridors or other conservation actions to mitigate the effects of global change on the European biota. Finally, it is hoped that the post-doc will participate in sub-projects that use basic ecological research ask how SDM predictions can be used to inform on the ground conservation. The post offers the opportunity to interact with an excellent international research team, and the post-doc will be required to work both independently and collaboratively.
Research environment:
The post-doc will be associated with ‘Rui Nabeiro’ Biodiversity Chair at the University of Évora in Portugal (www.catedra.uevora.pt/rui-nabeiro/). However, the project will involve close collaboration with members of the iBiochange group at the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid, Spain. The project also involves collaboration with several international research teams (see project description below). The post-doc will be expected to coordinate collaborative research with these research groups, and participate in meetings, for which international travel will be required.
Qualifications and skills:
The applicant should have a PhD in ecology or a related field. Essential skills are:
• Species Distribution Modelling
• Excellent statistical programming skills in R or equivalent
• GIS
• Clear communication in English in both spoken and written form
• Good ecological knowledge
A strength in collaborative and interdisciplinary research is highly desirable. Experience of working with one or more of the following is desirable: species dispersal, functional traits, land-cover, climate change, biogeographical analyses, Dynamic Global Vegetation Models, spatial population dynamics.
Application: Enquiries and applications should be addressed to catedra-biodiversidade@uevora.pt before February 15th 2013. Please put ‘EC21C’ in the email title.
The application must include a cover letter (in English) explaining your ability to carry out the post, a maximum of 5 publications most relevant to the project, a short CV (in English, please no more than 5 pages), and the names and contacts of two academics that can provide a reference for you.
