Postdoct developing multifunctional benefits for agricultural wetlands

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The Department of Ecology

The Department of Ecology conducts internationally strong empirical and theoretical research and education aimed towards sustainable forestry, agriculture and conservation. Our research on populations, communities and ecosystems forms the basis for our research on the effects of land use and climate on animals, plants and soil. We aim at finding solutions that will contribute to improve greenhouse gas balances, conserve threatened species, support biodiversity and ecosystem services, sustainable wildlife management, and pest management in forest and agricultural landscapes, as well as in urban areas. However, we also work with basic questions concerning the ecology, evolution and dynamics of populations and especially from perspective of climate, landscape and landuse change.

“Scenarios for Protecting European Avian Redistributions” (SPEAR) is a BiodivERsA project in collaboration with several other European countries. The aim is to identify priority biodiversity protection areas and gaps in area networks to better manage protected areas for multiple benefits and to develop multifunctional benefits of agricultural wetlands. The project consists of three integrated work packages of which the postdoctoral researcher at SLU, Uppsala investigates strategies to increase multifunctionality for agricultural wetlands in northern Europe. Biodiversity across multiple taxa (mainly birds, but also other taxa from eDNA water samples) will be linked to other functions (e.g. flood control, nutrient retention, recreation) of agricultural wetlands at local and landscape scales.

Duties:

The postdoc will compile and analyse data on community composition across an ecological gradient of newly created, restored and protected agricultural wetlands in relation to key wetland attributes linked to management and water catchment areas. In addition, effects of wetland restoration/creation/protection networks on bird diversity at the landscape scale will be investigated. Also, the postdoc will design a study collecting eDNA samples from agricultural wetlands to investigate relationships between taxa (fish, amphibians, and some insect groups) and to link biodiversity data to physical data associated with wetland multifunctions such as nutrient retention, recreation and flood control.  

Qualifications:

As postdoctoral appointments are career-developing positions for junior researchers, we are primarily looking for candidates with a doctoral degree that is preferrably within 3 years of the application date.The PhD degree should be in ecology, or a related discipline . Other required qualifications are: 1) proven research productivity with peer-reviewed publications about biodiversity in created, restored or protected wetlands, and 2) documented use of joint species distribution modelling with experience of working and analyzing community data from various taxonomic groups, 3) documented understanding of e-DNA data sampling and implementation in research, 4) good communication skills with fluency in English. Although not required it is also a merit to 5) show good abilities in collaborations and to work independently, and 6) have experience of working with heterogeneous datasets and GIS. A foundation of knowledge in the ecology and distribution of wetland birds may help, but is not required.

Place of work:

Uppsala.

Form of employment:

Postdoc position for 2 years.

Extent:

100%.

Starting date:

According to agreement.

Application:

Welcome with your application marked Ref no. SLU ua at latest January 4 2023, to: Registrator, SLU, Box 7070, SE75007 Uppsala Sweden / registrator@slu.se / use the button below.

Academic Union representatives:

https://internt.slu.se/min-anstallning/facket/kontaktpersoner/



The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) is a world-class international university with research, education and environmental assessment within the sciences for sustainable life. Its principal sites are in Alnarp, Umeå and Uppsala, but activities are also conducted at research stations, experimental parks and educational establishments throughout Sweden. We bring together people who have different perspectives, but they all have one and the same goal: to create the best conditions for a sustainable, thriving and better world.

SLU has just over 3,000 employees, 5,000 students and a turnover of SEK 3 billion. The university has invested heavily in a modern, attractive environment on its campuses.

www.slu.se