Doctorado chulo mapeando arrecifes de coral con tecnología biofriki

The Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology is a research institute of the Max Planck Society. It was founded in 1992 in the State of Bremen and employs around 200 staff members. In close collaboration with numerous university and non-university research institutions, we explore the diversity and function of microorganisms in the ocean and their interactions with their environment. Scientists from all over the world, engineers, technicians and administrative staff together make an important contribution to global marine and environmental research.
In the Microsensor Group we are searching for a
PhD Student on Coral Reef Mapping


Framework
As a part of the EU-funded Training Network project “4D-REEF: Past, present and future of turbid reefs in the Coral Triangle”, 15 early-stage researcher (doctoral candidate) positions are available. The project consortium of 17 research institutes and universities will provide an excellent foundation for career development in reef studies, with local and international links, collaborative projects and an exciting training program.


Project: Habitat structure and spatial ecology in modern turbid reefs
The benthic dimension of reef habitats sets the stage for a complex set of interactions between biogeochemical processes, hydrodynamics, habitat competition and pelagic communities. Therefore, a comprehensive description of the reef benthos in terms of community composition, coverage and structure, is a key target of reef surveys. Using novel underwater hyperspectral surveying systems (HyperDiver), rich snapshots of the reef can be easily acquired. With the use of machine learning and image analysis, detailed habitat structure maps can be efficiently created. The dense reef biodiversity maps opens up the reef mesoscale to seascape-style analyses.

Objectives:

Establish methods and protocols for hyperspectral surveying of the seafloor in turbid or light-limited regions.

Development of computational pipelines for generating classified reef maps, exploring the use of modern machine
learning techniques

Derive metrics of reef health from survey data which can be validated against other measured ecological indices for pigmentation, bleaching, calcification.

Detailed study using chemical & optical microsensors of the status and role of key reef players (turf algae, calcifiers, etc.)


What we expect from you:

Experience in computational research and programming, esp. machine learning, neural networks and image analysis

A Masters degree in a relevant field of natural sciences or information & computing technology

A Strong motivation for marine ecological studies, preferably with experience of field work

A SCUBA diving certification, preferably Rescue Diver level

A strongly inter-disciplinary outlook and good written and oral communication skills

Experience with any of the following points of advantage: software/web development, ecological field work, biogeochemical analyses

Able to attend interviews and start the position soon after the application deadline



What we offer:

We offer a 3 year full-time appointment. Candidates can be of any nationality, but in order to be eligible for the EU-funded positions the following criteria applies to all applicants:

At the time of recruitment the applicant shall be in the first four years of his/her research career (eg. since completing Masters) and have not been awarded a doctoral degree.

The applicant must not have resided or carried out his/her main activity in the country of the host institute for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the recruitment.

Applications must be submitted online. The deadline is August 25, 2019. For further information please contact Dr. Arjun Chennu (achennu@mpi-bremen.de) and see project website: https://www.naturalis.nl/en/4d-reef


The Max Planck Society is committed to employing more disabled individuals and especially encourages them to apply. The Max Planck Society strives for gender and diversity equality. We welcome applications from all backgrounds.