PhD position in the project “Baltic Sea marine biodiversity – addressing the potential of adaptation to climate change” in the University of Turku
A position for a PhD-student is open in the project focusing on adaptive potential of Baltic Sea littoral organisms in face of the ongoing environmental changes. Position is funded through the BONUS program by the EU Commission’s Research Framework Programme and the Academy of Finland. For description, see http://www.bonusportal.org/bonus_projects/viable_ecosystem_projects_2012/bambi. The position is located in the Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, Finland (http://www3.sci.utu.fi/biologia/en/). Environmental change not just drives shifts in species distributions but also generate selection for species’ traits relevant to tolerate the new environmental conditions. Potential for adaptive responses is crucially dependent on the availability of genetic variation in these traits. In the Baltic Sea, the major predicted changes will be decreasing salinity and increasing temperature. The project will focus on adaptive potential of model species, the seaweeds Fucus vesiculosus and F. radicans and the mesograzer Idotea balthica, to the predicted changes. The species are becoming model species in ecological and evolutionary studies owing to their importance in ecological function of littoral communities, experimental feasibility and progress in gaining genome sequence data. This enables research approaches spanning from genes to phenotypes to fitness, and linking tolerance traits to genetic variation. The doctoral research is expected to focus on the model species and issues such as estimating tolerance and plasticity to salinity and temperature, identifying the genetic basis and/or heritability of tolerance, and estimating effects of community-wide stress on tolerance and on interactions between species. The approaches will be wide-ranging and challenging, but collaboration within the consortium will support the research. The project consortium will provide a multi-disciplinary research environment with expertise ranging from ecology, genetics, ecological genomics and evolutionary biology to spatial modeling, management and environmental politics. The PhD-student position will be available for about four years, from 1st March 2014 (starting time negotiable) to the end of 2017. A successful applicant is expected to have a Master’s degree in ecology, genetics, evolutionary biology or marine sciences or otherwise qualified to apply admission to postgraduate studies in the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (for qualifications and procedures, see http://www.utu.fi/en/units/sci/research/postgraduate/Pages/home.aspx). An ideal candidate shows high motivation and enthusiasm for science, creativity and ability to independent (though supervised) work. Experience in experimental field and laboratory work and skills in statistical analysis will be assets. Applications for the PhD position will be reviewed starting on 15th Jan 2014; however, candidates will be considered until the position is filled. The salary will be in accordance with the Finnish university norms, about 1950 - 2750 €/month, the exact level depending on the stage of the PhD-studies and competence. The application documents should include: 1. Motivation letter explaining why you are interested in and why you are suitable for the position. 2. CV including education and prior research experience. 3. List of relevant publications and a one-page summary of the MSc thesis 4. Name and contact information for two academic referees Send the above by email to [email protected] no later than 15th Jan 2014, preferably as a single pdf file. Feel free to contact me for further inquiries: Prof. Veijo Jormalainen Section of Ecology Department of Biology FI-20014 University of Turku Finland http://users.utu.fi/veijor/index.html [email protected]
