Applications are invited for a PhD scholarship at the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. The PhD candidate will be enrolled for a 3 year period starting between January 1 and March 1, 2013.
Research area and project description:
This PhD project is part of a new Sapere Aude grant entitled "Species Extinctions Under Climate Change: Re-evaluating Extinction Risk" (EXTINCTIONs). EXTINCTIONs aims at assessing past and current population dynamics and extinction processes and how can this knowledge about the past help to better predict the future impacts of global change in biological diversity.
A significant aspect of the EXTINCTIONs will involve relating Species Distribution Models, SDMs, and paleoclimate simulations to population genetic/phylogeographic data to investigate the relationship between population size and geographic range size under climate change over evolutionary time-scales. The PhD student will contribute to this broader objective by investigating the spatial and temporal dynamics of genetic diversity and population structure for numerous species during the Late Quaternary. The goal of this PhD project will be to integrate phylogeographic inference with methods and theory from other ecological and evolutionary sub-disciplines (including macroecology) to understand population dynamics under historical climate change. Technically, the project will include conducting statistical phylogeographic and population genetic analyses, species distribution modeling, and GIS manipulation of species distribution and climatic data. To achieve this aim the Phd student will help, in collaboration with a bioinformatician, to compile a database of phylogeographic and population genetic data spanning different biomes and taxonomic groups from public databases such as GENBANK, NCBI and EMBL.
PhD supervisors:
David Nogués-Bravo and Katharine Ann Marske
Qualifications and specific competences:
Applicants must have a relevant master?s degree in ecology or evolutionary biology (with an emphasis on population genetics, phylogenetics or phylogeography) or have submitted their master thesis for assessment before the application deadline, as well as possess a good general background in natural history.
Additional minimum qualifications include experience using population genetic, phylogenetic or phylogeographic methods, ideally in spatially explicit frameworks. Some experience with Species Distribution Models and/or the R statistical environment would also be an advantage.
The successful candidate is expected to have strong skills in English and applicants must document this. The primary working language of the Center is English.
Place of Employment:
The PhD student will be employed by the University of Copenhagen and will work at the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate (CMEC), a Center of Excellence directly funded by the Danish National Research Foundation and comprising 40 researchers from 16 different countries working on multi-disciplinary research lines (http://macroecology.ku.dk/). CMEC is also part of the Section for Ecology and Evolution within the Department of Biology, a dynamic research environment containing two Centers of Excellence and with a successful track record of graduating Masters and PhD students and hosting postdoctoral researchers from all over Europe, North America and Asia. Within CMEC, the Phylogeography and Extinction Theme is a key area of research focus over the next few years.
Salary and conditions:
Terms of appointment and payment are in accordance with the agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Federation of Professional Associations (AC). The starting salary for candidates with an MSc degree will be a minimum of DKK 309.179 (about EUR 41.500) per year (April 2012 level) plus pension contribution DKK 42.243 with the possibility of salary negotiation.
The PhD student will have ample funding for research stays within the international network of collaborators of CMEC and for attending conferences, meetings and workshops.
Contacts:
Applicants seeking further information are invited to contact Associate Professor David Nogués-Bravo, phone +45 35321314, e-mail:dnogues@bio.ku.dk
Application Procedures:
Applicants are requested to submit their application electronically including a cover letter which explains their motivation for the project, a curriculum vitae including contact information, qualifications, software experience and technical expertise, a list of publications, if any, one reference letter and the diploma and transcripts of grade. The deadline for applications is November 30, 2012.
An assessment committee will be appointed to evaluate the applications. The applicant will be notified of the composition of the committee. The final selection of a successful candidate will be made by the Head of Department, based on the recommendations of the assessment committee. The successful candidate will then be requested to formally apply for enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD school of Science, University of Copenhagen.
The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.
Applications received after the deadline, or with insufficient documentation or otherwise not complying with the above requirements, may not be considered. It is expected that the successful candidate will be enrolled at the PhD School of the Faculty of Science starting between January 1 and March 1, 2013.
Apply online
http://www.ku.dk/english/avail
Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the oldest university in Denmark. With 37,000 students and 9,000 employees, it is among the largest universities in Scandinavia and one of the highest ranking in Europe. The University consists of six faculties, which cover Health and Medical Sciences, Humanities, Law, Science, Social Sciences and Theology.
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