POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCHER, MODELING CROP POLLINATION SERVICES
GUND INSTITUTE, THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT
POSITION: The Gund Institute for Ecological Economics seeks a
postdoctoral researcher
to develop rigorous and practical models that predict crop
pollination services across
agricultural landscapes. The position is part of a new collaborative
project funded by the
USDA, "Developing Sustainable Pollination Strategies for U.S.
Specialty Crops." We
aim to understand how farm management practices affect pollinators,
and to develop
recommendations for harnessing native bees for crop pollination. The
3-year position
will be directed by Taylor Ricketts at The University of Vermont and
co-advised by Eric
Lonsdorf, Research Scientist at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
RESPONSIBILITIES: The postdoctoral researcher will: develop a
spatially-explicit
statistical model integrating the ecology and economics of crop
pollination services
(building on our initial modeling efforts); work closely with project
field teams to apply
this model to several agricultural landscapes and crops within the
US; use the fitted
models to predict impacts of habitat enhancements on pollinator
communities and crop
productivity. The post-doctoral researcher will work closely with
both Dr. Ricketts and
Dr. Lonsdorf, and will interact continuously with the broader project team
(www.icpbees.org).
QUALIFICATIONS: Applicants must have a doctoral degree in ecology, economics,
agricultural science, or related fields. Successful candidates will
have strong quantitative
and statistical modeling skills, expertise in pollination or
landscape ecology, successful
experience with interdisciplinary collaboration, and a commitment to
connecting research
to real-world land management.
APPLICATION: Applicants should send a letter of interest, curriculum
vitae, and contact
information for three references to Taylor Ricketts, Director, Gund
Institute for
Ecological Economics, at [email protected]. Review of
applications will begin on
April 12, 2013 and we anticipate a start date of July 1, 2013.
SETTING: The University of Vermont is located in Burlington, between
the Green and
Adirondack Mountains and on the shores of Lake Champlain. The Gund
Institute is a
transdisciplinary environmental research center involving 20 Faculty
Fellows, visiting
scholars, and graduate students (www.uvm.edu/giee/). Related efforts
at UVM include a
university-wide research initiative in Food Systems.
The University of Vermont is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
Applications from women and people from diverse racial, ethnic, and
cultural backgrounds are encouraged.
