Post-doc position - spatial modelling of weed spread in northern Australia This position will be based in the School of Environmental and Life Sciences, within the Faculty of Education, Health and Sciences. The successful candidate will work within a large team researching the ecology and management of alien invasive grasses in northern Australia. Team Leaders include Dr Samantha Setterfield, Dr Adam Drucker (CDU) and Dr Keith Ferdinands (NT Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts). This project is funded by an external research grants from the Commonwealth Environmental Research Fund (CERF) awarded to CDU and the NT DNRETA. The project will be run in close collaboration with Dr Yvonne Buckley from the Spatial Ecology Lab, University of Queensland (www.uq.edu.au/spatialecology) with links to the AEDA CERF hub (www.aeda.edu.au <http://www.aeda.edu.au/> ) where the candidate will work with leaders in spatial modelling and decision making tools to prioritise management in response to risk. The project will also be conducted in collaboration with the Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge CERF Hub, which will provide the candidate with access to a network of tropical river ecologists.
The candidate may be based either at CDU or UQ but will be expected to spend a significant amount of time in each location. Other project partners are Queensland Biosecurity and the WA Department of Agriculture and Food. The candidate will work with the project leaders at CDU, UQ and NT Government. Postdoctoral Fellow (Spatial Modelling of Weed Spread) Vacancy number: 6967/202 Up to 2 year fixed term full time appointment - Located in Darwin or Brisbane Remuneration Package - Academic Level A or B - $47 258 to $80 170 per annum The successful candidate will form part of a cross-disciplinary team developing decision support tools and generating information that will improve weed risk management in northern Australia. The candidate's research will aim to: * Integrate the capabilities of spatial technologies (data collation/display/mapping landscape heterogeneity/scenario modelling) with a rigorous statistical analysis approach (habitat suitability modelling and model selection procedures); * Utilise habitat suitability, weed dispersal and demographic lattice models to simulate weed spread, these models will enable important invasion pathways to be identified and relative susceptibility to invasion in heterogeneous landscapes to be assessed. * Conduct spatial prioritisation of weed management efforts in a heterogeneous landscape. * Communicate project outcomes to the scientific community and government weed managers. The candidate will work with ecologists collecting field data on the ecological attributes and distribution of case study species, and economists developing economic tools for use within a WRM framework. The successful candidate will work with research associates responsible for collecting and collating field and other data for use in the spatial models. Informal enquiries may be directed to Dr Samantha Setterfield, on: 08-8946-6756 or: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [EMAIL PROTECTED] or Dr. Yvonne Buckley [EMAIL PROTECTED] Applications Close 18 July 2008 For further information, please visit www.cdu.edu.au/pmd/vacancies.html or phone (08) 8946 6284. Applicants should address the Selection Criteria.
