The IEE Division Aquatic Ecology & Evolution and the Eawag Center for Ecology, Evolution, and Biogeochemistry in Kastanienbaum seek to recruit a Postdoc in Quantitative Paleolimnology.
The position is part of an SNSF funded project entitled “20,000 years of evolution and ecosystem dynamics in the world’s largest tropical lake reconstructed from sediment cores, fossils and ancient DNA”. The overall aim of the project is to understand the ecosystem and evolutionary history of Lake Victoria, East Africa. The goals for the postdoc are to help synthesize the results from the project by integrating and interpreting diverse time series that include multiple biogeochemistry proxies along with organismal remains (e.g. zooplankton and fish teeth). This unique data set has been developed over the past 5 years by a large team of researchers, and is based on a series of sediment cores that provide a unique historical record of ecosystem dynamics of Lake Victoria spanning the entire Holocene – a time period that includes not only the emergence of a dramatic radiation of cichlid fish but also the more recent human-mediated ecosystem degradation that culminated in a mass extinction of cichlids and a thoroughly changed food web.
We are interested in candidates with expertise in quantitative data analysis and an interest in the paleolimnology of tropical lakes. The team of researchers involved in the project includes paleolimnologists, ecologists, and evolutionary biologists. The main data sources that support the proposed work have been generated and are ready for synthesis. Additionally developing own ideas within the framework of the project is encouraged.
The position is based at Eawag’s Center for Ecology, Evolution & Biogeochemistry (CEEB), which is located on the shores of Lake Lucerne and is a strong nucleus of research groups aimed at integrating evolutionary biology, community ecology, and ecosystem science http://www.eawag.ch/forschung/cc/ceeb/index_EN. The Postdoc will interact with a diverse range of researchers studying community ecology, evolutionary biology, ecological genetics, ecosystem science, and applied environmental science.
The postdoc project is jointly led by Blake Matthews and Ole Seehausen and involves collaborations with other research groups at Eawag, the University of Bern (Institute of Ecology & Evolution, Institute of Geography), the University of Basel, and the University of Copenhagen.
Screening of applicants will begin immediately, and the closing date is 31 Mar 2022.
Our research department has presence both at Eawag and at Uni Bern IEE and offers an excellent working environment in which employees can contribute their strengths, experience and ways of thinking. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values of our Department, and we are committed to ensuring our workplaces reflect those values. As such, we strongly encourage applications from researchers identifying as a member of a historically marginalized group. You can find more information about us here https://www.eawag.ch/en/department/fishec/ and here https://www.aqua.iee.unibe.ch/
Please contact Blake Matthews blake.matthews@eawag.ch or Ole Seehausen Ole.Seehausen@eawag.ch
We look forward to receiving your application. Please submit your application in one single pdf file that includes CV, motivation letter, copies of academic qualifications, and the names and contact information for three references to Alexandra.depeyer@iee.unibe.ch
