We seek an aquatic ecologist with expertise in analysing the effects of multiple stressors (organic and inorganic pollution, geomorphological alterations, land use changes, water abstraction, invasive species and pathogens) on the structural and functional biodiversity of aquatic communities in streams/rivers. The ideal candidate will hold a PhD in Aquatic Ecology, have experience in carrying out stream biomonitoring of both ecological structure and function (traits) and statistical skills suitable for analysing large multivariate datasets (including modelling with R packages).
The postdoctoral fellow will join a large, interdisciplinary consortium developing a program (GLOBAQUA) on the potential effects of water scarcity on river ecosystems under multiple stressors.
The successful candidate will utilise primarily a large database of invertebrate samplings assembled on the Ebro River. All sites were also described according to pressures (e.g. land-use associated to GIS) and local environmental conditions (e.g. chemistry, flow). A major focus of the candidate’s duties will be to identify how biological traits and single or multiple stressors explain the distribution of invertebrate taxa and to provide response models on structural and functional biodiversity according to the various pressures identified by other partners. Other duties will include: (1) collection of existing data for building a database of samplings, environmental variables and invertebrate traits, (2) consideration in the analyses on how species trait responses affect key ecosystem processes (e.g. water provisioning, sediment retention, water purification), (3) production of primary publications arising from this research.
This work will be based at UMR 5023 LEHNA in the University of Lyon I with opportunities of working with GLOBAQUA partners at the University of Barcelona, the Catalan Institute for Water Research and the stream ecology group of the University of Basque Country. The appointment is for 12 months, at an annual gross salary of 30,000€. Preference will be given to candidates available to start by March 2015. Candidates from any country may apply, but must have received their PhD within the past 2 years (at the start of contract) to be eligible. Expertise and ability will be assessed primarily via the quality of previous scientific output, the demonstrated ability of the candidate to work within a team framework, and letters of reference.
To apply, please email a cover letter, brief summary of research interests, CV, and contact information for 2 references to Pr. Sylvain Dolédec at sylvain.doledec@univ-lyon1.fr.
Review of applications will begin January 05, 2015, and submissions will be accepted until the position is filled.
Pr Sylvain Dolédec
UMR CNRS 5023 - LEHNA
Biodiversité des Ecosystèmes Lotiques
Bât Forel - 6 rue R. Dubois
Université Lyon 1
69622 Villeurbanne Cedex
Tel +33 4 72 43 13 63
Fax + 33 4 72 43 28 92
http://umr5023.univ-lyon1.fr/
http://spiral.univ-lyon1.fr/Files_m/M5298/WEB/Bioeval_des_eco.htm