Doctoral student in Ecology

Welcome to Linnaeus University
Where knowledge grows.
We are an international university in Småland, Sweden. Together we set knowledge in motion for a sustainable societal development.

The Department of Biology and Environmental Science is part of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. The research activities within this multidisciplinary department include the areas of aquatic ecology, cell and organism biology, evolutionary biology, microbiology, environmental science and environmental engineering as well as disease ecology.  

Field of subject for the appointment: Ecology
Placement city: Kalmar 

Job description
Future climate scenarios project increasing surface temperatures, decreased salinity, and changes in wind-driven upwelling in the Baltic Sea that will likely induce significant changes in phytoplankton and cyanobacterial dynamics. Potentially creating shifts in dominating phytoplankton groups from diatoms and dinoflagellates to green algae and cyanobacteria. Such changes will have large impacts on nutrient cycling, sedimentation rates and food web efficiency of the ecosystem. We are seeking a PhD student for a project examining the impact of changes in planktonic microbial communities in response to future climate scenarios. The student will work with field time-series from the Linnaeus Microbial Observatory (LMO), and conduct in situ incubation and laboratory experiments using key phytoplankton strains by applying both microbial and molecular tools to gain an understanding of the ecological consequences of future scenarios. 

This study is part of a larger multidisciplinary project that seeks to understand diversity, ecology and physiology of microbial plankton communities within a climate change perspective. 

The research is part of the research group Marine Plankton Ecology and Applications and will be conducted in collaboration with other scientists within the framework of the Strong Research Environment ECOCHANGE and the Centre for Ecology and Evolution in Microbial model Systems (EEMiS) within Linnaeus University that comprises expertise in ecology, evolution, and microbiology. 

According to the Higher Education Ordinance, a person appointed to a doctoral studentship should primarily devote himself/herself to his/her own studies. An appointee may, however, work to a limited extent with education, research, artistic development, and administration. However, before a doctoral degree has been awarded, duties of this kind may not comprise more than 20% of a full-time post. 

Requirements 
A person fulfils the general entry requirements if he/she


• has been awarded a degree on second-cycle level;
• completed the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits, of which 60 credits on second-cycle level, or
• in other way, in Sweden or abroad, has acquired principally equivalent knowledge. 

Specific requirements within the field of ecology include


• Documented experience in phytoplankton/marine ecology research.
• Documented experience in field work and experimental design.
• Knowledge of multivariate statistics and in working with statistical software such as R.
• High proficiency in written and spoken English. 

Other assessment grounds


• Documented skills in molecular methods and network analysis applied to microbial systems.
• Important personal qualities are to be creative, good at problem-solving, a team-worker, independent, resilient, and structured.
• Holding a B driver’s license. 

For more information, please contact:
Professor Catherine Legrand (catherine.legrand@lnu.se) +46-(0)480-447309;
Head of Department Per-Eric Betzholtz (per-eric.betzholtz@lnu.se), +46-(0)480-446249;
Dr. Elin Lindehoff (elin.lindehoff@lnu.se), +46-(0)480-447359;
Dr. Hanna Farnelid (hanna.farnelid@lnu.se), +46-(0)480-446296;
HR partner: Stiina Salmgren, (stiina.salmgren@lnu.se), +46-(0)480-446406.

Union representatives can be reached through the university switchboard: +46-(0)772-28 80 00.

The application (in English) should contain a CV (with telephone and e-mail), documentation of exams and grades, a description of personal motivation and experiences relevant to the research project and any other documentation that the applicant would like to present. The candidates should also provide contact details (including telephone number and e-mail address) of two reference persons. Applications should arrive no later than November 27, 2020. Mark your application with reference number 2020/700-2.2.1.

 


Linnaeus University has the ambition to utilize the qualities that an even gender distribution and diversity brings to the organization.

Please apply by clicking on the "Apply" button at the bottom of the ad. Applicants are requested to the application resolving CV, cover letter , a copy of a relevant essay , grades and certificates and other relevant documents. The applicant also requested to submit with their application a proposed research plan within the current area of research. All documents must be attached to digital in the application. The application and other documents shall be marked with the reference number. All documents cited must be received by the University no later than 24.00 (Local time in Sweden) on the closing day.