Friday 15 February 2013

Vacancy: Post-doctoral researcher on the development of physiological models of deep-sea organisms

Job NIOZ, the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research - Post-doctoral researcher on the development of physiological models of deep-sea organisms

NIOZ, the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research is looking for a Post-doctoral researcher (3 years) on the development of physiological models of deep-sea organisms

Location	Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
Function types	Technical, Laboratory positions, Postdoc positions, Research, Development, Innovation
Scientific fields	Natural Sciences, Engineering
Hours	38.0 hours per week
Education	Doctorate
Job number	AT 2013-023

Job description

The human pressure on the deep sea has increased substantially in recent decades, as the fisheries and hydrocarbon industry are expanding their activities onto the continental shelf and beyond. Large-scale physical disturbance of the seafloor induced by these activities (i.e. trawling by fishing vessels and exploration drilling by the hydrocarbon industry) releases extensive sediment plumes into the water column that impacts nearby benthic communities. There is however a lack of assessment tools to determine the impacts of these plumes on deep-sea organisms.
Currently, we have two projects running in cooperation with Norwegian partners to assess the impacts of these sediment plumes on two key-groups of the deep-sea fauna, namely cold-water corals and sponges. Working in a team of scientists that has ample experience with experimentation and modeling of cold-water corals and sponges, you will develop physiological models, based on the Dynamic Energy Budget theory, to quantify the impacts of sediment deposition on these organisms.
In a first step, we will utilize existing data to develop a physiological model of cold-water corals and sponges, where the challenge is to incorporate group-specific metabolic activities and processes, like the formation of a carbonate skeleton by cold-water corals, into the model. Subsequently, data from disturbance experiments will be used to quantify the effects of sedimentation on important physiological processes, such as growth and reproduction. Experiments are conducted by scientists in Norway, but are designed in close collaboration with our modeling team to yield an optimal dataset for the model development.

Requirements

We are looking for a creative and highly motivated post-doc with an expertise in the development of physiological models, preferably Dynamic Energy Budget theory. A background and experience in linking experimental data with mathematical models is needed. Excellent communication skills are essential to optimize interaction with experimentalists and facilitate the knowledge transfer to potential end-users.

Conditions of employment

We offer a fulltime position for 3 years, a pension scheme, a yearly 8% vacation allowance, year-end bonus and flexible employment conditions. Conditions are based on the Collective Labour Agreement of Research Centers. The position will be located on Texel. Cost of relocation and help with housing is provided by NIOZ.

Contract type: Temporary, 3 years

Organisation

NIOZ, the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research

NIOZ, the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research is the Dutch national oceanographic institute and one of the leading oceanographic institutes in Europe. NIOZ has two locations, a Northern one on the island of Texel and a Southern one in Yerseke on the border of the Eastern Scheldt Estuary. We employ over 350 staff, research scientists, lab assistants, technicians, ship’s crew and auxiliary staff. This position is located in Yerseke.

Department

Ecosystem Studies

One of the departments in Yerseke is Ecosystem Studies. This department works at the interface between ecology and biogeochemistry in estuarine, coastal and deep sea environments. The department’s mission is to study how ecology influences biogeochemical cycles (the ecological perspective on marine biogeochemistry) as well as how organisms and ecological interactions are affected by the biogeochemistry of their environment (the biogeochemical perspective on marine ecosystem functioning). Key research topics are biogeochemical cycling in sediment ecosystems, benthic-pelagic coupling, and stable isotope food web research.

Additional information

Additional information about this project can be obtained from:
Dr. D. (Dick) van Oevelen, scientist, tel. +31-113-577489, email: dick.van.oevelen@nioz.nlDr. ir. F. (Filip) Meysman, senior scientist, tel. +31-113-577450, email: filip.meysman@nioz.nl
Additional information about the procedure can be obtained from Sigrid Moerbeek, HR advisor, tel.+ 31-222-369330, email: sigrid.moerbeek@nioz.nl

More information about employer Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) on AcademicTransfer. Direct link to this job opening: www.academictransfer.com/17363

Bron: http://www.academictransfer.com/employer/NIOZ/vacancy/17363/lang/en/

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