02 PhD Positions in Aquatic Ecology 830 views

The Department of Aquatic Ecology and Environmental Biology at Radboud University (RU) is looking for two PhD candidates on the project ‘Bioturbators drive greenhouse gas emissions from shallow inland waters’.

About the positions:

• The PhD candidates will jointly design and conduct a range of experiments to assess bioturbator effect on GHG emission in relation to bioturbator traits.
• The first PhD candidate will focus on overall CO2 and CH4 emissions and the underlying microbial processes in experiments and inland waters in the Netherlands.
• The second PhD candidate will focus on physical effects of bioturbation – particularly on gas bubble formation and release – and its consequences for greenhouse gas emissions.
• The latter PhD candidate will incorporate the project findings in an existing sediment-water CH4 flux model. Both PhD candidates will use state-of-the-art experimental mesocosm setups at Radboud University (Nijmegen, Netherlands) and at the University of Koblenz-Landau (Germany). Both PhD candidates will have a 10% teaching load.

Requirements:

• Applicants must be enthusiastic, highly motivated ecologists with a strong and proven interest in aquatic ecology and/or ecosystems ecology.
• applicant should have an M.Sc degree (or equivalent) in Ecology, Microbiology, Environmental Sciences, or a related field, and be willing to spend approximately 6 months in Landau (Germany).
• PhD candidate 1 requires a driving licence to be able to travel to field sites.
• Previous experience with experiments, molecular techniques (DNA extractions, qPCR) and biogeochemical analyses (Greenhouse gas measurements, porewater and sediment analyses) is preferred.
• PhD candidate 2, previous experience with modelling, or the willingness to learn this, in programming languages such as R, Python or Matlab would be an asset.
• Candidates for both positions have experience with the statistical analysis of ecological data sets, and are keen to develop expertise in multivariate statistics and ecological modelling.
• Applicants need to be proficient in written and verbal English.

How to apply:

Apply online and attach the following documents:

• Letter of motivation.
• CV including contact details of two academic references.
• A brief (max. 1 page) overview of research ideas/plans candidate would want to develop with your supervisors during this PhD.
• A digital copy of M.Sc degree certificate.