Supervisors:
Julia Blanchard (Animal & Plant Sciences, Sheffield), Mat Collins (Exeter), Kieran Hyder (Cefas) & Tom Webb (Animal & Plant Sciences, Sheffield)

Project Description

Predicting the consequences of changes in the physical environment and potential food availability for fish and fisheries, when many detailed aspects of species’ ecological and physiological constraints are not known, is challenging. Different food web modeling approaches of ecosystems have been developed to link physical and biogeochemical processes to ecological processes. These range in complexity from simple species bioclimate envelope modeling (Cheung et al. 2010, Global Change Biology 16:24-35) and size-based food web models (e.g. Blanchard et al. 2012, Phil Trans Roy Soc 367:2979-2989) to multi-species and complex ‘whole of ecosystem’ models (Fulton et al. 2011 Fish Fish 12: 171–188). The latter are limited in their capacity to resolve global-scale questions, due to high data demands and do not yet account for invasions or spatial re-distributions of new species from adjacent regions, whereas the former do not resolve the detailed species-level interactions that will be important for regional fisheries management.

Relatively little work has been done to put these different models and their predictions into a framework to quantify uncertainty or assess if additional complexity actually leads to a better prediction, as is commonly done in other fields (e.g. climate predictions). Multi-model ensembles also enable a range of plausible projections to be considered alongside each other (Collins et al. 2012 Nature Climate Change 2:403–409).

Using an ensemble approach this PhD will develop techniques to:
quantify uncertainties in projections by combining information from models, understanding and records 
of past change establish the skill of alternative (species- and size-based) models for predicting changes in the ecological properties of marine communities and fisheries across different temporal and spatial scales determine whether alternative processes nested within models helps to improve uncertainty

The project will help to improve knowledge of uncertainty for future projections of climate change on large marine ecosystems and global fisheries.  It will use global oceanographic and fisheries datasets as well as detailed long-term historic time series available from the North Sea. This project offers a unique opportunity to work with quantitative marine ecologists, climate scientists and fisheries scientists. The PhD student will ideally have strong quantitative skills with computer programming experience. The student will be based in the Dept. of Animal & Plant Sciences, Sheffield but with opportunity to spend significant time at University of Exeter and Cefas. Funding is available for 3.5 years beginning from March 2013.

You can apply to this project through Sheffield University’s online application system. Feel free to contact me (julia.blanchard@sheffield.ac.uk) with any questions you may have about the project prior to application.  The deadline for applications is January 15, 2103.

http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/aps/prospectivepg/graduate-opportunities/blanchard

PLEASE NOTE: The studentship funding for this project is only available to UK/EC students. Non-EU overseas students or students interested in pursuing PhD research in any of my research areas (see my website here) should email me, with a CV and cover letter detailing your research interests.

Postdoctoral and PhD positions in Trait-Based Analysis and Modelling of Ocean Life

The Centre for Ocean Life (www.OceanLifeCentre.dk) offers a 2-year post doctoral position as well as a 3-year PhD fellowship in Trait-based analysis and modelling of Ocean Life at DTU Physics and DTU Aqua (Department of Physics and The National Institute for Aquatic Resources, both at the Technical University of Denmark). The positions start January 1st, 2012, or soonest thereafter.

The project aims at assessing how trait distributions of ocean life are influenced by different degrees of seasonal forcing. The idea is to combine data-analysis and modelling approaches to determine which traits are favoured by different degrees of seasonal forcing (e.g. high vs. low latitudes), including how trait distributions of short-lived organisms vary throughout the season. Relevant traits could be body size, reproductive strategy and timing, feeding mode, activity level etc. The project may focus on either the fish community or the plankton community. To this end it can rely on already established modelling frameworks for the fish community or the hydrodynamics of a water-column. The expected results will be the establishment of patterns of traits with latitude or throughout the season and mathematical models which explain the emergence of those patterns.

Further information about the project and the research environment can be found at the Centre’s homepage.

Qualifications
We envisage an ecologist with strong quantitative skills or a physicist/mathematician/engineer with a keen interest in ecology. Because there are two positions we hope to employ candidates with complementary skills.

Postdoc Position: Candidates should have a PhD degree or equivalent.

PhD student position: Candidates should have a master’s degree with an academic level equivalent to a master’s degree in engineering.

OTHER POSITIONS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE HERE:

www.OceanLifeCentre.dk

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291600-0706/homepage/virtual_issues.htm

Background
Sizemic is a 4-year (2008-2012) ESF funded Research Network. Goals are to synthesis size-based and species-based research in ecology by facilitating collaborations across existing research boundaries, and providing integrated training for young scientists. http://www.sizemic.org

Purpose of this Survey
The aim of this questionnaire is to understand facts about participation in SIZEMIC, opinions about SIZEMIC, and opinions about what (if anything) should follow SIZEMIC.

Confidentiality and anonymity
You will not be asked to enter your name. Please do not enter it or any personal information other than that explicitly asked for. Returns will be disseminated in aggregate form, or as quotations dissociated from any personal information.

Instructions
The Survey is in four sections: questions about you, questions about your involvement in SIZEMIC, questions about your opinions of SIZEMIC, and questions about what (if anything) should follow SIZEMIC. Completion of the survey should take around 20 minutes and is voluntary. Please complete the questionnaire by 1st April.

Thank you!
Thank you for taking the time to consider our request, and we hope that you will take the time to continue and complete the questionnaire. You contribution would help us understand the SIZEMIC network, what it has been good at, what could have been better, and what we need to do next.

Sponsor
The survey was funded by the Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies of the University of Zurich.

****** Here it is!
http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22C3DBTXGU6/

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY
PhD studentship – Marine community ecology

Biogeography of Marine Communities: Beyond Food Webs and the Abundance Spectrum

A PhD studentship will be available from Autumn 2011 to research marine communities from a size-based perspective, in the laboratory of Dr Daniel Reuman. The post will be funded as part of a Natural Environment Research Council grant to Dr Reuman and PI Dr Guy Woodward of Queen Mary University of London. The post will be based in the Division of Biology at Silwood Park, Imperial College London, and will be co-supervised by Dr Julia Blanchard (Imperial) and Prof Simon Jennings of the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) and the University of East Anglia.

Two classic but different approaches to community ecology have developed. The food web approach describes the species present in the community and who eats whom, often ignoring species characteristics such as body mass; the approach is perhaps best represented in the terrestrial literature. In contrast, the abundance spectrum, a central tool in aquatic community ecology and fisheries management, ignores species identity and is used to quantify how population density depends on individual body mass (larger individuals are less abundant). Both approaches have the weakness of assuming spatial homogeneity of the community, or providing community descriptions that average away spatial heterogeneity.

The student’s work will be part of a broad effort in community ecology to unify these two perspectives and to help fix the common weakness of assuming homogeneity. The work will make use of recent statistical and theoretical advances of the supervisors and large datasets from whole-sea-scale, multiannual CEFAS monitoring projects. Goals include advancing our fundamental understanding of community ecology, with an emphasis on the processes leading to large-scale patterns of abundance and species diversity in food webs, as well as using this understanding to improve ecosystem monitoring and management methods used to assess and safeguard marine ecosystems that are affected by fishing activity and climate change. The project is the marine component of a grant to PI Dr Guy Woodward of Queen Mary University of London; the supervisors are co-investigators on the grant. Dr Woodward’s grant is also closely linked to research being funded by the US National Academy of Sciences, so the project represents an excellent opportunity for the student to participate in a broader program and relate results to other systems.

This is a 3+ year fully funded full-time position primarily in the laboratory of Dr Daniel Reuman at Imperial College London, with salary at least at the NERC guidelines with London allowance plus a CASE partner contribution. Some time will be spent at the CEFAS Lowestoft Laboratory. Start date is Autumn 2011, precise date to be determined.

Students with backgrounds in biological or physical sciences will be considered. Evidence of computational, statistical, or mathematical experience is a plus, as is past experience in community ecology and marine ecology.

For more information or informal inquiries please contact Dr Reuman (d.reuman@imperial.ac.uk) or Professor Jennings (simon.jennings@cefas.co.uk). To apply, please send a CV, scientific writing sample, contact information of two references, and a list of past coursework in maths, statistics, computing, and marine or community ecology with durations of training and marks to Dr Reuman at the listed email address. The deadline is 25 March 2011. Shortlisted applicants will be contacted soon thereafter. The post, start date, and interviews are subject to change if NERC funding is modified or delayed.

Please click here for the meeting programme

I am seeking for candidates with a good publication record who want to work in the following research topics: “Evolution within food webs”, “Effects of climate change on food webs”, “The relationship between climate change, food webs and ecosystem functioning”, and “The relationship between multifarious functional diversity, food web dynamics and evolutionary feedbacks”. We focus on soil food webs mainly composed of arthropod and annelid fauna. Our current project is testing the effects of extinction and water availability on food web structure and dynamics; as well as on leaf litter decomposition. We do this with experimental field enclosures across a rainfall gradient in beech forests and using computer simulations. Thus, candidates interested in doing theoretical (computer simulation: C, C++ or R environments) or empirical (field and laboratory work, including DNA techniques to assess “who eats whom”), are welcome to apply. A good background in statistical analysis is not required but will be considered.

The deadline is approaching very fast (February 8th), so please interested potential applicants should contact me as soon as possible: Jordi Moya-Laraño (jordi@eeza.csic.es).

Final Sizemic Workshop: Changing Climate, Physiological Adaptation, Ecosystem Resilience & Body Size Constraints

Institute for Hydrobiology & Fisheries Science, University of Hamburg,

Grosse Elbstrasse 133, Hamburg, Germany

13th April – 15th April 2011

deadline for applications  February 1st, 2011!

Final workshop flyer

Workshop application

Sizemic Summer School: A Practical Course in Size­
Structured Modeling of Population and Community
Dynamics in a Changing Climate

Institute for Hydrobiology & Fisheries Science, University of Hamburg,

Grosse Elbstrasse 133, Hamburg, Germany9

9th April – 15th April 2011

deadline for applications  February 1st, 2011!

Summer school flyer

Summer school application

HOW TO APPLY

Institute of Marine Sciences, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones

Científicas, Barcelona, Spain. June 21 – 25, 2010

PROGRAMME

Accomodation:  Residencia Campus del Mar and Residencia de Investigadors