PhD fellowship in temporal responses of vegetation to climate and land use change at Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate (CMEC)
We are offering a PhD fellowship in temporal responses of vegetation to climate and land use change from 1 April 2023 or as soon as possible after.
Our group and research
You will be part of a research team focused on understanding the mechanisms behind temporal responses of plant and bird communities to global change. The team is highly interdisciplinary, building on historical field ecology, botany, macroecology, citizen science, and aerial image analysis to tackle questions on what mediates community responses to global environmental change, and identifying the spatio-temporal scales at which we can attribute drivers and predict biotic trends. We emphasize teamwork and collaboration within CMEC and with an international network of collaborators. We strive to maintain an inclusive and supportive group where all team members contribute to a creative, friendly, and engaging work environment for excellent research.
CMEC is a center of excellence with a cross-disciplinary research program. We offer stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment addressing fundamental questions on the origin, maintenance, conservation, and future of life and biological diversity on Earth. The 40+ researchers at CMEC currently represent 13 different nationalities and the working language is English. The center juxtaposes faculty staff scientists from the fields of macroecology, historical biogeography, conservation science, oceanography, evolutionary biology, community ecology, population biology, climate change research, and environmental economics.
Project description
This PhD will focus on reconstructing vegetation dynamics the past century, with Greenland and Denmark as study areas. Using datasets from historical Danish botanists, the candidate will perform field resurveys to reconstruct vegetation changes and explore the role of natural and anthropogenic factors in explaining biotic responses to climate change. The project will further rely on several open-access databases on climate, land cover, and plant functional traits such as the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN), and the Tundra Trait Team (TTT). Depending on the candidate’s interest and experience there will be scope for exploring different sub-questions related to vegetation responses to climate and land use change.
The project will rely on extensive fieldwork in Denmark and remote areas of Greenland as well as spatial and statistical analyse to address the research questions. Prior field experience and good plant identification skills are considered strong assets. Part of the historical datasets will be in Danish – understanding of written Danish is therefore an advantage but not a strict requirement.
The project is part of a larger grant, ATEMPO, led by Assistant Professor Naia Morueta-Holme and funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark’s Sapere Aude program exploring anthropogenic impacts on temporal biodiversity change. The project is the product of a collaboration in particular with Professor Signe Normand at Aarhus University and Hans Henrik Bruun at University of Copenhagen. It is expected that the successful candidate will spend an extended period of time (3-6 months) at a relevant external university or international organization. The specific details will be agreed with the supervisors based on the best fit for the candidate and PhD project.
Principal supervisors are Assistant Professor Naia Morueta-Holme, Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Section for Biodiversity, Globe Institute: morueta-holme@sund.ku.dk, phone: (+45) 35335329 and Professor David Nogués-Bravo, Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Globe Institute: dnogues@sund.ku.dk, phone: (+45) 35321258.
Start: 1 April 2023 or as soon as possible thereafter
Duration: 3 years as a PhD student
Job description
Your key tasks as a PhD student at SUND are:
- Carrying through an independent research project under supervision
- Completing PhD courses or other equivalent education corresponding to approximately 30 ECTS points
- Participating in active research environments including a stay at another research team
- Obtaining experience with teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project
- Writing a PhD thesis on the basis of your project results
Key criteria for the assessment of applicants
Applicants must have qualifications corresponding to a master’s degree related to the subject area of the project, e.g., ecology, biology, geography. Please note that your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years).
Other important criteria are:
- Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
- Previous publications
- Relevant work experience
- Other professional activities
- A curious mind-set with a strong interest in global change research
- The grade point average achieved in past degrees
- English written and spoken language skills
Place of employment
The place of employment is at the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Section of Biodiversity, Globe Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark – located at Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment. Our research facilities include a computer cluster and a state-of-the-art GIS lab.
About Globe Institute
The Globe Institute is part of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. The Institute’s main purpose is to address basic scientific questions through interdisciplinary approaches. The institute operates at the intersection of natural and medical sciences and the humanities. Information on the institute can be found at: https://www.globe.ku.dk/.
The Globe Institute is committed to creating an inclusive and diverse environment where employees and students can belong and thrive. See website for more information. All qualified applicants will receive full consideration. Candidates who, through their research, teaching, and/or service, contribute to diversity and competencies of our Institute are encouraged to apply. The University of Copenhagen strives to offer a family friendly and flexible working environment with a sustainable balance between work- and private life, including parental leave schemes (up to 47 weeks for both parents) and up to six weeks of paid holidays per year. The university offers a variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families.
Terms of employment
The employment as a PhD fellow is full time and for 3 years from 1 April 2023 or as soon as possible thereafter.
The employment is conditional upon the applicant’s successful enrolment as a PhD student at the Graduate School at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant.
The PhD study must be completed in accordance with The Ministerial Order on the PhD programme (2013) and the Faculty’s rules on achieving the degree.
Salary, pension, and terms of employment are in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Taxation and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary starts at 28,448 DKK/approximately 3,825 EUR (October 2022 level) plus 17.1% pension.
Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact both principal supervisors.
General information about PhD studies at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences is available at the Graduate School’s website: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/phd/guidelines/
Application procedure
Your application must be submitted electronically by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. The application must include the following documents in PDF format:
1. Letter of application including a short description of previous research experience and a research plan outlining how the project could be carried out (max. two pages). Project description is used only for evaluating the applicant.
2. CV incl. education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position
3. Certified copy of original Master of Science diploma and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in other language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted. As a prerequisite for a PhD fellowship employment, your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree. We encourage you to read more in the assessment database: https://ufm.dk/en/education/recognition-and-transparency/find-assessments/assessment-database. Please note that we might ask you to obtain an assessment of your education performed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science
4. Publication list (if available)
5. Full contact details (name, address, telephone & email) of two professional references (these will only be contacted if you are short-listed).
Application deadline: 29 January 2023, 23.59pm CET
We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.
The further process
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the hiring committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an unbiased assessor.
The assessor makes a non-prioritized assessment of the academic qualifications and experience with respect to the above-mentioned area of research, techniques, skills and other requirements listed in the advertisement.
Once the assessment work has been completed each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.
You can find information about the recruitment process at: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/
The applicants will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.
Interviews are expected to be held in week 8 (20-24th February 2023)
The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.
Part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and among Europe’s top-ranking universities, the University of Copenhagen promotes research and teaching of the highest international standard. Rich in tradition and modern in outlook, the University gives students and staff the opportunity to cultivate their talent in an ambitious and informal environment. An effective organisation – with good working conditions and a collaborative work culture – creates the ideal framework for a successful academic career.
Info
Application deadline: 29-01-2023
Employment start: 01-04-2023
Department/Location: Globe Institute
