Research Associate in Population Ecology

Job number   ACAD104437
Division/School   School of Biological Sciences
Contract type   Open Ended
Working pattern   Full time
Salary   £33,797 - £38,017 per annum
Closing date for applications   08-Mar-2020 

A Research Associate position is available to investigate the effects of multiple stressors on resilience loss in experimental communities, under the guidance of Dr Christopher Clements in the School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol. This position has funding for 2 years with a proposed start date of 1 August 2020. 

The successful applicant will carry out experiments to investigate how combinations of stressors alter the resilience of experimental populations and communities. This project has a strong methodological developmental component, and will be the first to employ 3D printing, robotic gantries, and video analysis to automate the collection of high-resolution high-dimensional data from protist microcosm experiments. The RA will be supported in this by a technician, as well as Dr Clements and collaborators at the University of Sheffield. Excitingly, this project forms one work package of a large inter-institutional grant with the overall theme of assessing the coherence of ecological stability among ecosystems and across ecological scales. Thus, the RA will benefit from close collaboration with researchers at the University of Sheffield and will be one of three RAs simultaneously employed on this project, giving great scope for collaboration and the development of ideas and future projects. The RA will be encouraged to regularly visit and spend time working at the University of Sheffield during this project, being an integral part of a large (>15 person) team all working on the theme of resilience loss and the effects of multiple stressors. 

The successful candidate will have a PhD in a relevant biological or engineering subject (or close to completion), a strong interest in population and community ecology, and experience coding in Python or R. They will be highly motivated, collaborative, and an excellent communicator, and have a demonstrable desire to learn new skills. Training will be provided in 3D design and printing, designing and carrying out protist-based experiments, and measures of resilience in biological systems. In addition, there is some flexibility to adjust the focus and direction of the work depending on the interests and expertise of the successful candidate. 

For informal enquiries please contact Dr Christopher Clements, c.clements@bristol.ac.uk. 

We welcome applications from all members of our community and are particularly encouraging those from diverse groups, such as members of the LGBT+ and BAME communities, to join us.