Dear all,
We are looking for a postdoc to the project “Effects of climate change on forest insects – consequences on conservation strategies and pest management”. The post doc period is 2 years, funded by a tax free post doc scholarship from Carl Tryggers Foundation.
/Thomas Ranius
Project description
Climate change will have vast effects on biodiversity and pest management. So far most analyses of these effects have been at a coarse-grained scale, but recently it has been shown that the fine-grained climatic heterogeneity is important. We will collect new field data including both local and regional climatic gradients by surveys of one species of conservation concern (a cerambycid beetle Tragosoma depsarium) using pheromone traps and experiments on an important pest species (spruce bark beetle Ips typographus). The data will be used to assess how forest insect species are affected by climate by modelling abundances with climate and habitat variables and their interactions at multiple spatial scales. We will use the obtained models to predict the amount of available habitat given different climate scenarios.
Organisation
The project will be conducted at the Department of Ecology of SLU in Uppsala. At the Department of Ecology in Uppsala we conduct research for sustainable forest and agricultural production and efficient biological conservation. We study the influence of land use and climate on animals, plants, soils nutrient status, and greenhouse gas balances. Solutions are sought that will mitigate climate change, preserve threatened species, benefit biological diversity and ecosystem services, and control pests in forest and agricultural landscapes as well as in urban areas. See also: https://www.slu.se/en/departments/ecology/
The post doc will be supported by a research team with complementary competences:
Thomas Ranius (https://www.slu.se/en/cv/thomas-ranius/), main host, professor in conservation biology. His main research interest is landscape ecology in forests, and many of his studies have focused on dead-wood dependent insects.
Martin Schroeder, professor in forest entomology. His main research interest is population dynamics and pest management, especially of bark beetles.
Erik Öckinger, associate professor in ecology. Since one of his main research interests are consequences of climate change on biodiversity, he has experience from combining climatic data and spatial patterns of biodiversity.
Mattias Larsson, associate professor in chemical ecology. He is developing techniques for monitoring insects with pheromones.
Merits
The applicant should hold a Ph D in ecology (or in a similar relevant subject, such as forest science or entomology), preferably achieved within the last five years. Experience from at least one of the relevant research fields (species’ responses to climate, forest pest management, conservation biology, population ecology) is required, and experience from both applied and basic aspects of ecology is a merit. Experience from the relevant ecosystem (forest, dead wood, insects) and extensive experiments and field surveys as well as work with GIS and a solid experience of statistical analyses are also meriting. A strong publication record (in relation to the time since dissertation) is a merit. Strong communication skills in English (both written and oral) are required. The candidate is expected to be capable and willing to take initiative and work independently as well as in a team. Field work will take place in multiple locations in Sweden, and a driving license is therefore required.
Access: 1 April, or by agreement. Please indicate possible starting date in your application. The scholarship from Carl Tryggers Foundation is totally 552 000 SEK (over 2 years).
Application and contact
Please send your application directly to thomas.ranius at slu.se no later than January 31st. It should include (i) a summary of research experience, expectations on this project, and future plans (max 1 page) (2) CV, and (3) two reference persons. Do not hesitate to e-mail if you have further questions.
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