SeaDoc seeks PostDoc for marine bird research
The SeaDoc Society seeks a post-doctoral scientist to lead an international collaborative effort investigating status and trends of marine bird populations in the Salish Sea.
Job Posting: Postdoctoral Research Associate
Salish Sea Marine Bird Population Trend Project
UC Davis Wildlife Health Center’s SeaDoc Society
Orcas Island, Washington, USA
The SeaDoc Society, a program of the Wildlife Health Center, which is a Center of Excellence at the University of California (Davis) School of Veterinary Medicine, seeks a post doctoral scientist to lead an international collaborative effort investigating status and trends of marine bird populations in the Salish Sea. The scientist will lead an ecosystem-level analysis to evaluate marine bird trends on a species by species basis, identify ecosystem and species-specific drivers that could influence marine birds and quantify factors associated with positive and negative trends in bird populations.
The Salish Sea is a 17,000 sq. kilometer inland sea shared by Washington State (USA) and British Columbia (Canada). Throughout the year, 160 species of birds use the Salish Sea marine ecosystem to varying degrees. Multiple data sets compiled over different time periods have shown significant population declines in many species and population increases in others. In addition to working on the recovery of declining populations on a species-by-species basis, there is great need for investigating ecosystem-level drivers that could be responsible for causing declines in multiple bird species. This SeaDoc Society project will evaluate the significant drivers for regional bird population trends with the intent of identifying management strategies that will positively impact multiple species and encourage ecosystem-level recovery. This retrospective analysis will be conducted using existing datasets and analyses (published and unpublished) on marine bird abundance, density, and distribution in the USA and Canada to determine population trends for bird species. Epidemiologic and population modeling will be used to evaluate the relationship between marine bird trends and demographic factors, behavioral traits, environmental stressors and other processes known to drive population dynamics.
Desired skills and experience include:
* A PhD in biology, ecology, statistics, epidemiology, or a health-related field
* Strong biometrical and statistical analysis skills
* Experience with evaluating trends in species abundance, analyzing and displaying temporal and spatial data, and developing population models using rigorous model selection and model testing approaches
* Familiarity with R, S+, GIS, or comparable statistical software
* Demonstrated ability to compare relevant data from compatible but disparate datasets and ability to know when data can and cannot be combined
* Knowledge of marine birds
* Excellent writing skills and experience being a lead author on multi-author manuscripts published in peer-reviewed journals
* Ability to speak English well and communicate with scientists while leading a large collaborative effort
* A current passport and U.S. drivers license or the ability to acquire them by the time of hire
This is a full-time (40 hour /week) 18-month position. There may be an opportunity to extend the position to 24 months based on performance. International travel between Washington State and British Columbia (Canada) is expected. The position is with the University of California at Davis, but will be based at the UC Davis’ SeaDoc Society office on Orcas Island, Washington (USA); off-site work may be negotiable. This work is expected to generate at least 1 or 2 high quality, multi-authored scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals. Postdoctoral salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience (approximately $50,000 / year plus benefits), with additional travel support available to present findings at appropriate scientific conferences. The start date is flexible but preferably no later than June 1, 2010.
To apply please send (electronically as a single PDF file) the following to Jean Spalti (jmspalti@ucdavis.edu):
· A letter of intent
· Curriculum vitae including list of publications or reports published
· 3 letters of recommendation
Review of applications will begin on February 1, 2010 and will continue until the position is filled. Additional information about the work of the SeaDoc Society can be found at www.seadocsociety.org