RE-ADVERTISEMENT: 2-yr postdoc on Making biodiversity inventories more efficient
The focus is especially on Amazonian rainforests, which house a large part of the Earth's biodiversity but are facing severe threats from climate change and human impact. We urgently need knowledge on biogeographical and ecological ranges of species, and these in turn need many observations of species occurrences from the field. However, such data are very laborious to produce, because traditional field inventories are slow, they require species identification skills that few people have, and the area that needs to be covered is very large.
These problems may be alleviated by approaching field inventories and species identification in new ways that allow non-specialists to contribute to the collection of species occurrence data. One such possibility is to use spectral leaf characteristics to facilitate species identification. The present project aims to test to what degree this approach can facilitate identification of Amazonian understory plants, especially ferns, and to combine it with already existing large datasets to enhance biodiversity mapping in Amazonia.
Starting date and period
The position is for two years and is available from August 1st, 2024, or soon thereafter.
Job description
The project aims to enhance ways of making biodiversity inventories more rapid and less dependent on the species identification skills of individual researchers. The focus will be on collecting and analyzing spectral traits on Amazonian understory plants, especially ferns, and to make the results available to the broader public in species identification tools. To test the approach, both already existing material and new material to be collected during coming field trips can be used. The postdoc is expected to contribute ideas and concepts to the project and actively collaborate with other team members, including students and researchers based at other institutions. Participation in field work is encouraged. The postdoc is expected to lead at least two high-quality papers in this research area and contribute to public outreach and teaching.
Your profile
Applicants must have a PhD degree or equivalent in a relevant field (e.g., ecology, biology, botany) or have submitted their PhD thesis for assessment before the application deadline. The broader project is mostly focusing on ferns as indicators of general floristic variation (with some attention to other plants such as palms), so experience with identifying plants is an advantage. The successful candidate is expected to have good collaborative skills, proven ability to publish at a high international level, and excellent command of the English language. Knowledge of Portuguese or Spanish is an advantage but is not required.
Application materials
Include a motivation letter (1 page, specify your qualifications for carrying out the planned research), a preliminary research plan (max. 3 pages, outline how you might focus your work to address the research questions mentioned above), CV (including number of citations and H-index from Google Scholar and full list of publications), and educational documentation (copies of diplomas for Master and PhD degrees). Diplomas can be in English or Danish, other materials must be in English.
Supervisor and collaborators
The work will be supervised by Professor Hanna Tuomisto (Aarhus University) and Dr. Flávia Durgante (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology). The postdoc will be integrated in and collaborating with others at the Section for Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity (ECOINF) in the Department of Biology, Aarhus University. There will also be collaboration with several research institutes abroad, notably University of Turku in Finland, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, and several institutes in South America.
What we offer
The successful candidate is offered:
- an ambitious, creative, and friendly research environment, inviting lively, open and critical discussion within and across different fields of research
- a working environment with teamwork, close working relations, network activities among young scientists and social activities
- a workplace characterized by professionalism, equality, and a healthy work-life balance
- access to a well-developed research infrastructure
- office space, shared equipment
Place of work
The place of employment and work is the Section for Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity (ECOINF), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 116, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
About the Department
The Department of Biology hosts research programs and teaching curricula that cover all major biological sub-disciplines. The Department currently employs approximately 140 academic and technical staff and 40 PhD students. The Department hosts BSc and MSc study programs in Biology with about 400 students enrolled as well as a PhD program. The Department offers a vibrant and informal research environment with a long-standing tradition for collaboration with international university partners in the absolute elite.
The working language is English, and we welcome applications from all genders of all backgrounds. Read about the Danish work-life balance, special opportunities for junior researchers, and the services available when relocating to Aarhus University here. The campus of Aarhus University is located in a beautiful park close to the city center. Aarhus city has a population of about 300,000 people.
Life quality and time allocation to family life in Denmark is high, and international investigations usually report that no other nationality score higher in terms of life satisfaction.
You can read more about the Department of Biology here.
Contact information
Applicants seeking further information are invited to contact: Professor Hanna Tuomisto,
e-mail: hanna.tuomisto@bio.au.dk.
Deadline
Applications must be received no later than May 21st, 2024.
Application procedure
Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the appointment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. All applicants will be notified whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee, and each applicant is given the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that concerns him/her self. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants.
Letter of reference
If you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf, please state the referee’s contact information when you submit your application. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee’s contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline. Unfortunately, it is not possible to ensure that letters of reference received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration.
Formalities and salary range
Natural Sciences refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities under the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.
The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found here.
Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities.
Salary depends on seniority as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Confederation of Professional Associations.
Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.
Research activities will be evaluated in relation to actual research time. Thus, we encourage applicants to specify periods of leave without research activities, in order to be able to subtract these periods from the span of the scientific career during the evaluation of scientific productivity.
Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Read more here. Please find more information about entering and working in Denmark here.
Aarhus University also offers a Junior Researcher Development Programme targeted at career development for postdocs at AU. You can read more about it here.
At the Faculty of Natural Science at Aarhus University, we strive to support our scientific staff in their career development. We focus on competency development and career clarification and want to make your opportunities transparent. On our website, you can find information on all types of scientific positions, as well as the entry criteria we use when assessing candidates. You can also read more about how we can assist you in your career planning and development.
The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.
Aarhus University
Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,300 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 935 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/
Please note in your application that you found the job at Jobindex
