PhD position in Ecology / Habitat modelling Project B2.1 [Ref. #B52a]

The Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F) is a new
interdisciplinary institute with the mission to carry out internationally
outstanding research on the interactions of biodiversity and climate change
on the organism level. It has been founded by the Senckenberg Gesellschaft
für Naturforschung, the Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, and other
partners. The Centre is funded by the Federal State of Hesse through its
Initiative for the Development of Scientific and Economic Excellence
(LOEWE). It provides a new, dynamic research environment that integrates a
variety of disciplines from both natural and social sciences. The Project
Area B “Biodiversity Dynamics and Climate” invites applications for a

PhD position in Ecology / Habitat modelling Project B2.1 [Ref. #B52a]

The main goal of the project is to model the distribution of marine benthos
species in response to climate change. The successful applicant will
investigate the impact of climatic factors on the distribution patterns of
benthic organisms and develop methods to improve the performance of the
modelling methods. We aim at applying new statistical quantitative methods
for predicting changes of the functioning of marine benthic ecosystems in
response to climate forcing.

The ideal applicant will have practical experience in statistical methods to
model species distribution and GIS. We encourage application from non marine
disciplines if the candidate has experience in distribution modelling
methods. We seek a motivated, organized, independent and enthusiastic
candidate with an MSc (or equivalent) in ecology, marine ecology, or related
disciplines.

Salary and benefits are according to a public service position in Germany
(TV-H E13, 50%). The Research Centre BiK-F advocates gender equality. Women
are therefore strongly encouraged to apply. Equally qualified severely
handicapped applicants will be given preference.

The position is a 27 months employment, starting April 1st, 2012. Given
further funding of BiK-F, a follow-up contract is generally aspired. The
project is carried out in cooperation with Dr. Henning Reiss, Marine Ecology
group at the University of Nordland (BodØ, Norway), where the candidate will
be enrolled as PhD student. The candidate will mainly work at Senckenberg am
Meer in Wilhelmshaven (Germany) with abroad stays at the University of
Nordland for one year in total. The candidate will be enrolled in the PhD
program at the University of Nordland.

Please send your application by mail or (preferably) e-mail attachment,
mentioning the reference of this position (#B52a) and including a letter
outlining your suitability for the post, a detailed CV, contact details of 2
referees and a selection of your most important publications before February
24th, 2012 to: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. V. Mosbrugger, Scientific Coordinator
Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberganlage 25, D-60325
Frankfurt am Main, Germany. E-mail to Service and Administration:
recruiting@senckenberg.de. For scientific enquiries please write to PD Dr.
Ingrid Kröncke (email: Ingrid.Kroencke@senckenberg.de

) or Dr. Henning Reiss
(email: henning.reiss@uin.no).