Researcher in Ecology

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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.

The marine microbiology research group in Kalmar seeks a researcher for studies of the influence of concentrations of silica and phosphate on picocyanobacteria to elucidate the effect of varying silica concentrations in the sea in deep time.

Field of subject for the appointment

Ecology, with specialization in Marine Microbial Ecology

Placement city: Kalmar.

Extent and period:

The basis for the researcher position is 100 % position to no longer than a maximum of 23 months.

Job description

Silica is an important nutrient in marine ecosystems and is especially important to diatoms – one of the most important phytoplankton groups – but also in other eukaryotic organisms. Recently it was discovered that silica deposition by picocyanobacteria can be an important component of the global oceanic silica cycle. Little is currently known about how shifting silicate concentrations in the oceans during the last billion years of Earth’s history have affected the evolution of phytoplankton in general. The current project will focus on different effects of silicate concentrations on modern representatives of major phytoplankton groups, in particular Synechococcus spp. and diatoms, in isolation as well as in communities. Moreover, the potential influence of low phosphate concentrations as well as different pH will be studied, as these two factors may strongly influence uptake and mineralization of silicate. The research strategy includes experimental work on isolates and communities as well as theoretical analyses. Analyses will involve state-of-the-art techniques in microbiology, transcriptomics and evolutionary biology, e.g. measurements of growth rates, intracellular element concentrations and gene expression. Computational methods will be used to study evolutionary questions, gene expression patterns etc.

The research project is part of a larger interdisciplinary research project in collaboration with scientists from Daniel Conley’s research group at Lund University as well as other scientists within the framework of the Centre for Ecology and Evolution in Microbial model Systems (EEMiS) at Linnaeus University that comprises expertise in ecology, evolution, and microbiology. The research is also connected to the Strong Research Environment ECOCHANGE.

Requirements

Qualified for appointment is the one who holds a PhD, or a foreign degree equivalent to a PhD, in Biology, Aquatic Ecology, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, or other closely related fields.

Specific requirements refer to


• High proficiency in written and spoken English.
• Ability to work independently to solve problems.
• Capacity to interact well in a research group (i.e. team work).

Assessment grounds


• Experience with aquatic microbial ecology research including working in the field and familiarity with microbial methods and experimental design is desired.
• Expertise in isolation and cultivation of phytoplankton and/or cyanobacteria, including experiments with mixed natural assemblages or isolated bacterial cultures is highly favourable.
• Expertise in phytoplankton/planktic cyanobacteria identification and taxonomy along with knowledge in aquatic biogeochemistry is desired.
• Experience with advanced molecular biology methods (e.g. [meta]genomics and/or [meta]transcriptomics), DNA and RNA extraction, quantitative PCR, and bioinformatics is advantageous.

Contacts

Professor Jarone Pinhassi, (jarone.pinhassi@lnu.se) or Head of Department Per-Eric Betzholtz, +46-480- 446249 (per-eric.betzholtz@lnu.se) or Human resources consultant Leif Eriksson,( leif.eriksson@lnu.se ).

The application (in English) should contain a CV (with telephone and e-mail), documentation of exams and grades, an application letter describing 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.

 


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. The credentials you invoke must be verified with certification and they must be attached digitally in your application. The application and other documents to 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.