Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management (MINA) at Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) has a vacant 3-year PhD position in forest ecology.
Forestry has made long-term impacts on the biodiversity and ecosystem functioning of boreal forests. Among the most important differences between managed and near-natural forests are the amount and diversity of dead wood. The successful candidate for the announced position will focus on how communities and food webs of soil invertebrates are affected by the availability of dead wood. To reach this aim, they will apply novel fingerprinting methods in biochemistry together with competent collaborators.
The position is funded by MINA and will be linked to the ongoing EcoForest project (“Forestry effects on biodiversity, carbon stocks and ecological processes in mature boreal forests”, 2021-26) funded by the Research Council of Norway.
EcoForest is a unique collaboration between several research institutions (NMBU, UiO, NINA, NIBIO), industry (Norges skogeierforbund, Norskog, Oslo kommunes skoger, and NGOs (Sabima, WWF). This collaboration will provide much needed knowledge for guiding future management of boreal forests, as well as ecological insight at the research front.
The starting date for the position will ideally be June 2024, but for the right candidate, both earlier and later starts may be negotiable.
Main tasks
The main activities will be:
- Field work
- Lab work, such as sorting and identification of invertebrates.
- Identify food sources and trophic levels of invertebrates by analysis of stable isotopes and other analytical techniques.
- Organize and analyze data, write scientific papers and disseminate results.
There will be a possibility to do other types of analyses, such as DNA metabarcoding, respiration or elemental analysis according to the candidate’s qualification and interest.
The successful candidate is expected to enter a plan for the progress of the work towards a PhD degree during the first months of the appointment, with a view to completing a doctorate within the PhD scholarship period.
Required academic qualifications:
- A relevant master’s degree in ecology, biology or similar
- Fundamental knowledge within the field of ecology
The following experiences and skills will be emphasized:
- Motivation for the outlined research project
- Knowledge of invertebrate, community or food web ecology
- Experience with stable isotope analysis for identification of nutrient chains
- Experience with field and laboratory work
- Experience with DNA metabarcoding, soil/dead wood respiration or elemental analysis
- Experience with identification of soil invertebrates (nematodes, collembolans, annelids, mites)
- Competence in statistics and bioinformatics
Personal characteristics important for the positions are:
- Strong scientific capacity and analytical skills
- Good social and collaboration skills
- Ability to work independently
- Driver’s license
Organisation/Company – Norwegian University of Life Sciences
Research Field – Environmental science » Ecology
Country – Norway
Application Deadline – 3 April 2024
More information: EURAXESS
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