1 doktorand i Biology with specialisation in ecolo

Biodiversity and function of benthic diatoms
The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) seeks a PhD student to study the biodiversity of benthic freshwater diatoms. Biodiversity of benthic diatoms will be quantified not only at the species level, but also at the level of the genotype, and encompassing the diversity of functional traits. The PhD position is based at the Department of Aquatic Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden (www.slu.se/vatten-miljo), and involves a close collaboration with a postdoc and with teams at INRA (UMR BioGeCo - Bordeaux oamp; UMR Carrtel -Thonon-les-Bains), France.

The Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment is a competence centre for applied environmental sciences with a national responsibility for monitoring of the environmental status in Swedish lakes and streams. The research focuses on geochemical and hydrological processes, aquatic ecology and biodiversity, as well as on aquatic ecotoxicology and environmental chemistry.
Description of work
The PhD student will be involved in the development and evaluation of two novel methodologies: DNA metabarcoding as a new, cost-effective approach for quantifying diatom biodiversity for use in research and bioassessment, and functional trait classifications of diatoms, to develop a predictive framework linking diatom species with key ecosystem functions. The PhD student will work with the isolation, culturing and barcoding of Nordic diatom species to complement existing reference libraries, with New Generation Sequencing analyses of community samples (laboratory and field samples), and with microscopical analyses based on morphological traits. Genetic and phenotypic variability will be studied in laboratory experiments, and by analyzing new and existing datasets from both Fennoscandia and France, using different ecological modeling methods.onbsp;

Kvalifikationer: Master?s degree (or equivalent) in biology or molecular biology, with emphasis on ecology. Preference will be given to candidates with knowledge in diatom taxonomy and/or ecology, with good laboratory skills and with experience of genetic sequencing, including NGS. Documented skills in niche-based modeling, ecological traits, literature-based meta-analysis and/or analysis of large datasets are considered a merit, as is experience using R or python software. Personal qualities are of high importance. The applicant is expected to provide (i) a motivation letter, (ii) CV, (iii) certified copies of degree certificates, (iv) an internationally approved English language test certificate (TOEFL, IELTS or Cambridge ESOL), (v) a certified copy of the passport if the applicant is a foreign citizen, and (vi) a list of at least two personal references and their full contact information.