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

Project description

To mitigate loss of farmland biodiversity, including insect pollinators, much effort has been spent on preserving and managing semi-natural grasslands. However, our ability to reverse current negative trends using only this approach is limited, since grasslands that have already been lost are difficult to restore and costly to manage for increased benefits to biodiversity. In addition, semi-natural grasslands are today mostly managed by grazing, resulting in a lack of critical floral resources for many insects during summer. In this project, we will therefore investigate if management of the landscape surrounding semi-natural grasslands, focusing on increasing the availability of flower resources during critical periods, can enhance their conservation value for flower-visiting insects.

Work tasks

This project will include designing and carrying out field experiments to investigate if proper management of the surrounding landscape can enhance the conservation value of grasslands for flower-visiting mobile insects. Specifically, the PhD student will study measures that create complementary/supplementary food resources – particularly late in the season when grasslands are often heavily grazed – and thereby potentially reduce extinction risks and enhance population sizes of pollinating insects in semi-natural grasslands. To achieve this, the PhD-student will combine observational and experimental field-studies with meta-analysis of existing data, to determine the effects of increasing availability of flower resources in the surrounding landscape on the abundance of bees and butterflies in semi-natural grazed grasslands. The PhD project is placed in an attractive research environment at the Department of Biology, Lund University.

Required qualifications

We are in particular looking for a highly motivated candidate with a Master’s degree (including a degree project of 30 credits or more) in biology, environmental science, ecology, or equivalent. The candidate should have documented knowledge of biodiversity science and/or conservation biology.  Knowledge of landscape ecology, animal ecology and/or agri-ecology are meriting. Previous experience with planning and carrying out field experiments and field surveys, as well as documented ability to use GIS and carrying out statistical analyses are advantages. We expect the candidate to be a team player with good communication skills in English. A driving license is a requirement. Proficiency in Swedish is meriting.

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§.

Application 

Applications should be written in English and include a cover letter stating the reasons why you are interested in the position, and in what way the research project corresponds to your interests and educational background. The application must also contain a CV, degree certificate or equivalent, and other documents you wish to be considered (grade transcripts, contact information for your references, letters of recommendation, etc.).