A full time position of a Post Doctoral Researcher (Ecology Modeller)
is available at the Department of Plant Ecology and Nature
Conservation, University of Potsdam, Germany. The position is part of
a multidisciplinary and international research project dealing with
the impact of global change on water resources in the Jordan River
Basin (see www.glowa-jordan-river.de). The project involves
scientists from many disciplines from Germany, Israel, Jordan, and
the Palestinian Autonomy.
We are looking for a scientist for the assessment of the
vulnerability of landcapes in the Middle East to changes in climate
and land use. The main task will be the evaluation of existing
vegetation models under a range of scenarios with respect to the
productivity of herbs, shrubs, and trees, stocking capacity for goats
and sheep, erosion, and runoff. This includes the presentation of
results in reports, maps, and data sets for use by other research
groups. Other tasks include the regional scaling up of plant
diversity in field plots, characterization of soil-grazing-plant feed
backs, characterizing the buffer capacity of seed banks of annual
plants under climate change, establishment of land use guidelines for
stakeholders, and presenting the results in reports, posters, talks
and papers. Funds are available for the temporary employment of
student assistants. The candidate is expected to help in the
administration of the project. There are opportunities for teaching
at the graduate level. One aim of the project is to evaluate
management strategies for natural areas in the region that could help
in adapting to the
consequences of climate change. However, the candidate is welcome to
develop own ideas with respect to model and data analysis.
Requirements: Ph.D. in ecology or related disciplines, background in
ecological modelling with proficiency in object-oriented programming
in C++ or Java. Some experience with R and with GIS would be helpful.
Place of work will be Potsdam, with occasional travels to Israel and
Jordan for metings. Potsdam has efficient and extensive public
transport and is well connected to Berlin (40 km). Our lab provides a
high-performance computing cluster, a young and dynamic team, and a
beautiful location in the royal Sans Souci park. Duration: starting
May 1, 2009, or later if position is not filled, until 31 December
2011. Salary is according to the tariffs in German public services
(TVL Ost E13) ranging from 36250 to 46750 euro (gross) p.a.
depending on experience and marital status. Net income after taxes
and social insurances ranges from 1650 to 2000 euro per month for
single persons without children.
Deadline for application: April 15, 2009, or until the position is
filled. Interviews are scheduled for late April, 2009 or until the
position is filled. Applications should be sent in English or German
in pdf format via email to the address below and should include a
statement of interest, CV, publication list and names and addresses
of at least two references.
Contact: Florian Jeltsch ([email protected]). Project home page:
http://www.glowa-jordan-river.de. Department home page: http://
www.bio.uni-potsdam.de/professors/plant-ecology-and-nature-conservation.
