Oferta de doctorado en Ecología de pequeños mamíferos (Potsdam, Alemania)

Small mammal communities in a rural-urban gradient
PhD Position at the workgroup of animal ecology,
University of Potsdam

Background
Within the Berlin-Brandenburg Institute for Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB, www.bbib.org) the University of Potsdam takes part in the “Bridging in Biodiversity Science” (http://www.bbib.org/bridging-in-biodiversity-science.html) project funded by the Federal Ministry of Research and Education (BMBF). This highly dynamic consortium was formed to implement a new interdisciplinary research initiative to bridge disciplines, scales and systems in biodiversity research.

The workgroup Animal Ecology at the University of Potsdam seeks to fill a PhD position within the work package “Rural-urban coupling” (http://www.bbib.org/rural-urban-coupling.html) as soon as possible.
Tasks
As part of this research consortium, the PhD student will investigate the biodiversity, community composition, population characteristics and adaptive strategies of small mammals along a rural-urban gradient in and around Berlin. Methods will include automated radio-tracking and capture-mark-recapture, as well as the analysis of genetic samples to assess population structure of selected species in a landscape context. There is also a possibility to conduct a citizen science project.

What do we offer?
The position is funded until March 2019 with a salary according to E13 TV-L (50%), and is embedded in the stimulating research environment within the interdisciplinary and collaborative context of the BIBS-Project. The research group Animal Ecology at the University of Potsdam consists of three scientists (Eccard and Dammhahn: animal ecology and behavioural ecology, Scheffle:, human biology), two technicians and several PhD students working in different projects in behaviour, evolution and conservation. Potsdam is a beautiful town 20km southwest of Berlin and offers a lot of opportunities to live and work in.

The candidate is required to have
• a completed master’s/diploma degree in biological sciences or a closely related field
• a background or strong interest in animal ecology, evolutionary ecology and animal behaviour
• competence in statistical methods, experience in using R and geographic information systems (GIS)
• good oral and written English language skills
• previous experience in field research, e.g. in radio-tracking, handling of small mammals; a driving license would be an advantage

Application
Applications should include the following components: a detailed CV, a letter of motivation, copies of relevant degrees and contact information of two referees. The files should be sent, by e-mail, in one single PDF document (< 10 MB) to Prof. Dr. Jana Eccard (eccard@uni-potsdam.de) and to Maria Thrun (mthrun@uni-potsdam.de) from now on but latest on September 15th, 2016. The Animal Ecology workgroup strives to increase the proportion of women in research and specifically encourages females to apply for this position. Disabled applicants will be given preference in case of equal suitability.