From SwissExperiment
PhD project 2.2
- NB this position needs to be confirmed by the WSL director board before it can be officially posted. Nevertheless it is posted here in the mean time for information purposes.
The research group “Wetlands” in the research unit „Ecosystem Boundaries“ at WSL has an opening for a Ph.D. student who will work on a project with the title „ Effect of environmental heterogeneity on above- below-ground diversity “.
- The candidate will investigate spatial and temporal patterns of biodiversity and community structure of above- and below-ground organisms (plants, arthropods, earthworms, protozoa and bacteria), how these relate to biogeochemical transformations (studied by colleagues of the RECORD project), and evaluate and model key species persistence in heterogeneous and dynamic environment using a stochastic spatial population model incorporating both metapopulations, processes, and habitat dynamics.
- The thesis will be supervised jointly by the contact persons given below.
- A M.Sc. degree is required, preferably with a thesis topic that addressed some aspect of riparian ecology or linkages between above- and below-ground communities.
- Preference will be given to those who have papers published, manuscripts submitted, or demonstrated writing skills.
- Ability to work cooperatively in an interdisciplinary team effort is essential. Research will involve empirical and experimental work and modelling. Strong skills in ecological modeling are considered an advantage and the ideal candidate could have a profile at the interface between ecology and mathematics.
- This is a three-year position with a planned starting date on January 1st 2008.
- For further information please contact Dr. Edward Mitchell, Wetlands Research Group WSL-Lausanne or Dr. Séverine Vuilleumier, Laboratory of Ecological Systems (ECOS), EPFL.
