The Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) is the largest freshwater ecology institute in Germany (www.igb-berlin.de). It is part of the Forschungs-verbund Berlin e.V. (FVB), the Leibniz Association (www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/en), and the Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (www.bbib.org). Joint professorships link IGB to Berlin’s three universities and the University of Potsdam. IGB provides excellent laboratory and field facilities as well as long-term research programs and data sets.
We invite applications for a PhD Position in Food Web and Lake Ecosystem Modelling as part of a new project to address ecological effects of light pollution. The focus is on skyglow and lake dimming by coloured DOC, two emerging features of global change disrupting ecological relationships in lakes, with skyglow never before experienced during evolutionary history. The successful candidates will join a team of 20 senior scientists, postdocs and other PhD students involved in planning, conducting and analysing experiments at IGB’s LakeLab, a unique large-scale infrastructure to study impacts of global environmental change in realistic conditions (www.lake-lab.de). We are seeking to recruit a dedicated student with expertise in ecological modelling and aquatic ecosystems. Light influences lake ecosystems at various levels, from direct effects on primary production to indirect effects caused by changes in mixing and temperature regimes as well as behavioural responses of zooplankton and fish. Therefore, an integrative modelling approach is needed to investigate how changes in light regime through skyglow and lake dimming by DOM will impact community dynamics and energy flow. The PhD project aims to develop a conceptual framework describing the anticipated indirect effects of skyglow and lake dimming by DOM on plankton community structure and energy flow through the grazing chain vs. the microbial loop. The ideal candidate has strong mathematical skills and a general understanding of ecology, combining a background in food-web and/or ecosystem modelling with an interest in confronting ecological theory and models with experimental data. Interest in trophic relationships and the general ecology of pelagic ecosystems is also expected. The overall goal is to advance understanding of food-web dynamics (zooplankton grazing food chain vs. the microbial loop) under scenarios of browning and skyglow. Funding has been secured for 3 years. Salaries are according to the standard rates of German federal government employees, including full fringe benefits. The positions are based at IGB’s Department of Experimental Limnology located on Lake Stechlin 80 km north of Berlin, Germany. Regular travel to Berlin will also be required. IGB offers an attractive training program (www.igb-berlin.de/PhD_Training.html) for all PhD students. Please send your complete application (CV, motivation letter, statement of research interests, copies of qualification documents, list of published or submitted papers, contact details of 3 referees) to Edith Tesch ([email protected]) as a single PDF file. Review of applications will start immediately and continue until the position has been filled. For enquiries, please contact Sabine Wollrab ([email protected]) or Mark Gessner ([email protected]). The IGB and FVB are equal opportunity employers and specifically welcome applications by female candidates. Preference will be given to applicants with disabilities when qualifications are equivalent. IGB, Dept. Experimental Limnology, Alte Fischerhütte 2, 16775 Stechlin, Germany
