Oferta compartida por Daniel Fernández en el Biogrupo
1) 2-yr postdoc on Making biodiversity inventories more efficient
The Department of Biology, Aarhus University invites applications
for a fulltime 2-year postdoc position on: Making biodiversity
inventories more efficient. This postdoc project is part of a larger
project funded by the Danish National Research Foundation. The overall
aim is to understand how tropical plant diversity originated and how it
is distributed at present.
The focus is especially on Amazonian rainforests, which house a large part of the Earth's biodiversity but are facing severe threats from climate change and human impact. We urgently need knowledge on biogeographical and ecological ranges of species, and these in turn need many observations of species occurrences from the field. However, such data are very laborious to produce, because traditional field inventories are slow, they require species identification skills that few people have, and the area that needs to be covered is very large.
These problems may be alleviated by approaching field inventories and species identification in new ways that allow non-specialists to contribute to the collection of species occurrence data. One such possibility is to use spectral leaf characteristics to facilitate species identification. The present project aims to test to what degree this approach can facilitate identification of Amazonian understory plants, especially ferns, and to combine it with already existing large datasets to enhance biodiversity mapping in Amazonia.
The focus is especially on Amazonian rainforests, which house a large part of the Earth's biodiversity but are facing severe threats from climate change and human impact. We urgently need knowledge on biogeographical and ecological ranges of species, and these in turn need many observations of species occurrences from the field. However, such data are very laborious to produce, because traditional field inventories are slow, they require species identification skills that few people have, and the area that needs to be covered is very large.
These problems may be alleviated by approaching field inventories and species identification in new ways that allow non-specialists to contribute to the collection of species occurrence data. One such possibility is to use spectral leaf characteristics to facilitate species identification. The present project aims to test to what degree this approach can facilitate identification of Amazonian understory plants, especially ferns, and to combine it with already existing large datasets to enhance biodiversity mapping in Amazonia.
Starting date and period
The position is for two years and is available from August 1st, 2024, or soon thereafter.
Job description
The project aims to enhance ways of making biodiversity inventories
more rapid and less dependent on the species identification skills of
individual researchers. The focus will be on collecting and analyzing
spectral traits on Amazonian understory plants, especially ferns, and to
make the results available to the broader public in species
identification tools. To test the approach, both already existing
material and new material to be collected during coming field trips can
be used. The postdoc is expected to contribute ideas and concepts to the
project and actively collaborate with other team members, including
students and researchers based at other institutions. Participation in
field work is encouraged. The postdoc is expected to lead at least two
high-quality papers in this research area and contribute to public
outreach and teaching.
Your profile
Applicants must have a PhD degree or equivalent in a relevant field
(e.g., ecology, biology, botany) or have submitted their PhD thesis for
assessment before the application deadline. The broader project is
mostly focusing on ferns as indicators of general floristic variation
(with some attention to other plants such as palms), so experience with
identifying plants is an advantage. The successful candidate is expected
to have good collaborative skills, proven ability to publish at a high
international level, and excellent command of the English language.
Knowledge of Portuguese or Spanish is an advantage but is not required.
Application materials
Include a motivation letter (1 page, specify your qualifications
for carrying out the planned research), a preliminary research plan
(max. 3 pages, outline how you might focus your work to address the
research questions mentioned above), CV (including number of citations
and H-index from Google Scholar and full list of publications), and
educational documentation (copies of diplomas for Master and PhD
degrees). Diplomas can be in English or Danish, other materials must be
in English.
Supervisor and collaborators
The work will be supervised by Professor Hanna Tuomisto (Aarhus
University) and Dr. Flávia Durgante (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology).
The postdoc will be integrated in and collaborating with others at the
Section for Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity (ECOINF) in the Department
of Biology, Aarhus University. There will also be collaboration with
several research institutes abroad, notably University of Turku in
Finland, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, and several
institutes in South America.
What we offer
The successful candidate is offered:
- an ambitious, creative, and friendly research environment, inviting lively, open and critical discussion within and across different fields of research
- a working environment with teamwork, close working relations, network activities among young scientists and social activities
- a workplace characterized by professionalism, equality, and a healthy work-life balance
- access to a well-developed research infrastructure
- office space, shared equipment
Place of work
The place of employment and work is the Section for Ecoinformatics
& Biodiversity (ECOINF), Department of Biology, Aarhus University,
Ny Munkegade 116, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
About the Department
The Department of Biology hosts research programs and teaching
curricula that cover all major biological sub-disciplines. The
Department currently employs approximately 140 academic and technical
staff and 40 PhD students. The Department hosts BSc and MSc study
programs in Biology with about 400 students enrolled as well as a PhD
program. The Department offers a vibrant and informal research
environment with a long-standing tradition for collaboration with
international university partners in the absolute elite.
The working language is English, and we welcome applications from all genders of all backgrounds. Read about the Danish work-life balance, special opportunities for junior researchers, and the services available when relocating to Aarhus University here. The campus of Aarhus University is located in a beautiful park close to the city center. Aarhus city has a population of about 300,000 people.
Life quality and time allocation to family life in Denmark is high, and international investigations usually report that no other nationality score higher in terms of life satisfaction.
You can read more about the Department of Biology here.
The working language is English, and we welcome applications from all genders of all backgrounds. Read about the Danish work-life balance, special opportunities for junior researchers, and the services available when relocating to Aarhus University here. The campus of Aarhus University is located in a beautiful park close to the city center. Aarhus city has a population of about 300,000 people.
Life quality and time allocation to family life in Denmark is high, and international investigations usually report that no other nationality score higher in terms of life satisfaction.
You can read more about the Department of Biology here.
Contact information
Applicants seeking further information are invited to contact: Professor Hanna Tuomisto,
e-mail: hanna.tuomisto@bio.au.dk.
e-mail: hanna.tuomisto@bio.au.dk.
2) Postdoctoral Researcher (2 years) in the Amazon Research Team
