Call for a post-doctorate fellow within the project: How Local-scale processes build up the Large-scale response of Butterflies to global changes: Integrative analysis across Monitoring Schemes (LOLA-BMS)
Background: Butterflies are a key bio-indicator of environmental change. Butterfly Monitoring Schemes (BMS) provide an extensive data source on population trends and distributions in a growing number of countries. Analyses of BMS data have revealed dramatic changes in biodiversity, but have not considered relationships across spatial scales. Based on a series of four workshops in a period of 2.5 years, the project LOLA-BMS will scale up from local-scale observations to large scale assessments of patterns and drivers of change in biodiversity, using data from butterfly monitoring schemes (BMS) across Europe, North America, Israel, and beyond. With a broad consortium of experts and a unique dataset, the project will exploit the excellent potential of BMS to identify trends and drivers of biodiversity change, predict future impacts and suggest interventions at multiple scales. We seek a post-doctorate fellow to facilitate the project and assist in implementation, analysis and dissemination. The fellow will have the following responsibilities: 1. To coordinate the project (e.g. facilitate communication between members, organize workshops, and aid the collation and preparation of data toward joint analyses) 2. To support and participate in the development of analytical tools that will enable the desired analyses 3. To mentor analyses and assist in integration, synthesis and interpretation of the results 4. To facilitate dissemination of the results in conferences and publications. Requirements: -PhD in Ecology, System Sciences, Statistics or related topics -Excellent statistical knowledge; experience with hierarchical Bayesian modeling will be particularly beneficial -Experience with systematic monitoring data will be beneficial -Excellent communication skills and experience in team-work; multi-linguistic skills will be beneficial (fluent English is necessary; skills in French would be useful) -Experience in working with butterflies would be useful, but not necessary Duration and place of work: The desired starting date is 1st February 2013, for a period of 28 months. Main work will be conducted at the Museum of National History in Paris, France (MNHN), with occasional visits or extended stays at the Dept. of Conservation Biology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany. Salary: ca. 2100 net per month. To apply, please send a CV, a short letter (maximum 1 page) explaining your interests and relevant skills, and two letters of recommendations. These should be sent both to Dr. Romain Julliard ([email protected]) and to Dr. Guy Peer ([email protected]). For further questions please contact Dr. Romain Julliard or Guy Peer.
