Please post to interested parties: Research Opportunity Modeling future scenarios: Climate Change Assessment and Strategic Habitat Conservation in the Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands USDA Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF) and North Carolina State University (NCSU) Posted: November 24, 2010.
Research Associate position available: A 1-3 year joint appointment with the USDA Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF) and North Carolina State University. The successful applicant will have strong skills and interest in computer modeling, statistical analyses, GIS and remote sensing analyses, biodiversity and conservation. The position begins January 2011 at the earliest. The opportunity will remain open until filled. Background: Natural resource management agencies are challenged to predict and respond to the potential effects of a changing climate and land use. Urbanization, sea-level rise, and shifts in climate that will directly and indirectly impact habitat availability and quality are of primary concern to agencies seeking to implement long-term conservation strategies. Stress on ecosystems brought on by urbanization and changes in land use may be exacerbated by climate change. Specifically, primary disturbance agents in the Caribbean such as hurricanes, flooding, fire and drought will be impacted by changes in climate. Urbanization will in turn have an effect on these processes through human actions such as loss of open space and connectivity, changes in hydrologic systems and increased water demand. Thus, the effective conservation of fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats will require the development of a conservation system with the ability to evolve, monitor, and adapt to these changing conditions. Modeling the future range of landscape conditions under a variety of policy and land use scenarios is an effective way to provide managers the information they will need to adaptively manage for species conservation. The goal of this project is to create spatially explicit models of future urban growth and vegetation cover under different climatic and land use scenarios and to develop scientific products (peer reviewed publications, maps, geospatial datasets) that can serve as a basis on which to model potential species and habitat responses to change. These in turn can serve as tools in developing and assessing conservation management plans that take into account future scenarios. The Research Associate position will be based at the USDA Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry, located on the grounds of the University of Puerto Rico Botanical Garden in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico (San Juan Metropolitan area). The selected candidate will work with Dr. William Gould (US Forest Service) and the research team in the IITF GIS and Remote Sensing Laboratory and in collaboration with Dr. Jaime Collazo of North Carolina State University (NCSU). The position will be administered through NCSU and the selected candidate will be an employee of NCSU with an adjunct position at IITF. The selected candidate will work with existing geospatial datasets, create new geospatial information, and develop future scenarios of urban land use and infrastructure using the USGS SLUETH algorithms and assess vegetation dynamics by calibrating existing models (VDDT, TELSA) to local conditions for the ecological processes most relevant to the ecological systems in Puerto Rico and the USVI. Candidates should have the following skills: - Ph.D. in quantitative ecology, biostatistics, computer modeling, geospatial statistical analyses, or related disciplinary area; - Experience and proficiency in GIS software and analyses, ?R?, and other statistical software (e.g., SPSS); - Familiarity with climate modeling, SLEUTH and VDDT helpful; and - Excellent verbal and written communication skills to facilitate a collaborative research environment and dissemination of results in public forums and scientific outlets. Applicants should submit the following to William Gould at [email protected]: - Cover letter summarizing research interests and academic and professional background. - Resume/CV. Names and contact information for three references. ************************************************************************ William Gould, Research Ecologist, USDA Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry Jardín Botánico Sur 1201 Calle Ceiba Río Piedras PR 00926-1119 Telephone:787-766-5335 ext. 302, fax:787-766-6302 [email protected] ************************************************************************
Research_Associate_Postion_Announcement_Modeling _Future Scenarios_November_2010.pdf
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