Doctoral student in environmental science - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Modelling effects of eco-evolutionary dynamics on ecosystem services in heterogeneous agricultural landscapes

Duties
Sustainable agriculture is promoted by ecosystem services like pollination and natural biological control of pests. Strengthening such services may result in increased yields and reduced agro-chemical inputs. Our ability to study and optimise ecosystem services is, however, limited. The project aim is to study the mechanistic link between farmland heterogeneity at various spatial scales and spatiotemporal dynamics of service providing organisms (e.g. spiders, ground beetles, and parasitoid wasps). We will answer calls for an eco-evolutionary, trait-based, and spatially explicit perspective on ecosystem services and the student should thus have knowledge of how ecological interactions, evolution, and dispersal of organisms may affect population dynamics. An important project component is to test models against empirical patterns through parametrization and validation of the models. There will be a focus on data on agro-ecosystems, including crop rotation, functional traits and insect population dynamics. The student should thus have knowledge in database handling and data analysis. By fitting models to data, the aim is to quantify the processes that are active in the study system and to communicate ways of optimizing biological control to stakeholders and policymakers. 

Qualifications

• The candidate should have a Masters degree in environmental science/ ecology/evolutionary biology alternatively a degree in Physics, Mathematics or computer science.
• Knowledge of interacting ecological, evolutionary and biogeographical processes is desirable.
• Candidates should be proficiency, but not necessarily documented, in working with mathematical modeling, computation and computers and programming, e.g. in Matlab, Python, C++, etc. Knowledge of model parameterization and validation and Bayesian statistics is also desirable.

Important qualities in a successful candidate are outgoing, curiosity, problem-solving, structured, independent and persistent.

Eligibility
Students with basic eligibility for third-cycle studies are those who- have completed a second-cycle degree- have completed courses of at least 240 credits, of which at least 60 credits are from second-cycle courses, or- have acquired largely equivalent knowledge in some other way, in Sweden or abroad.

The employment of doctoral students is regulated in the Swedish Code of Statues 1998: 80. Only those who are or have been admitted to PhD-studies may be appointed to doctoral studentships. When an appointment to a doctoral studentship is made, the ability of the student to benefit from PhD-studies shall primarily be taken into account. In addition to devoting themselves to their studies, those appointed to doctoral studentships may be required to work with educational tasks, research and administration, in accordance with specific regulations in the ordinance.

Type of employment
Limit of tenure, four years according to HF 5 kap 7§.