predoc-position-on-pristin

The call to join the PhytoPlastic project is now open!

What is required to join?

To participate, it is necessary to:

• be a Bachelor student, Master Student, PhD Student, or early Post‐Doc (PhD completion later 31st December 2019)
• be already a member/or join one of the limnological societies federated within EFFS (for a list click the link in this page)
• have enough time to perform the sampling activities (4 days for 4 sampling seasons) and any other project activity (data analysis, writing, meetings, etc)
• have access to basic limnological equipment (multiparametric probe)
• actively participate in the project

What do you gain from the participation?

• You will be part of a network of young freshwater scientists
• You will increase your knowledge about relevant topics in limnological research (microalgae and microplastics)
• You will enhance your soft-skills
• You will contribute to an international project
• Co-authorship in scientific publications

How to apply?

To participate in the project, please read and fill in the online questionnaire available at the link in this page by 15 July 2022.

QUESTIONS?
DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT US
Veronica Nava (veronica.nava@unimib.it)
Julia Gostynska (julia.gostynska@amu.edu.pl)

We are pleased to invite you to take part in the final conference of the European project “PlasticØPyr” on April 21 and 22 in Setcases (Catalonia). Since October 2019, the seven promoters * of this project have devouted our efforts to achieving four results:
1. Develop tools to assess and disseminate the environmental impact of plastics on mountain ecosystems;
2. Study the effects of plastic waste on high mountain ecosystems and organisms, in particular aquatic ecosystems;
3. Design strategies to reduce the presence of plastic waste and improve its management;
4. Ensure citizen participation in the search for plastic pollution and in the co-creation of self-sustainable use and replacement models.

In this final conference, we will share with you our experiences and conclusions, and also offer you the opportunity to present a poster about your research related to the effects of plastic waste on mountain ecosystems or your experience on proposals and initiatives for their management to prevent their release into these environments. This conference seeks the active participation of those public and private agents who work in high mountains aiming at generating a debate and an exchange of ideas on management models, actions and commitments that lead to a reduction in the presence of plastic waste in mountain ecosystems. Step up and join us!

You can download the full programme here

In addition, on the second day we will hold a citizen science workshop “PlasticØPyr Switch” activity, designed for all audiences and ages, where you can collaborate with renowned researchers who will train you in the classification and identification of plastic waste. Finally, you can take part in a sampling campaign in Setcases rivers and in the analysis of plastic waste.

We want to encourage you to come and take part in the activities we organize. If you would like to participate or have any questions, please email julio.lopez@udg.edu before April 10th. Places are limited to 75 people, registration will be accepted until capacity is reached. If you are interested in streaming assistance, please email julio.lopez@udg.edu.

See you at Setcases!

* The entities involved in the “PlasticØPyr” project are: CEAB-CSIC, University of Girona, University of Barcelona, ​​Laboratoire écologie funcionnelle et ambiente, Université Clermond Auverge, Anthesis Lavola and Cicloplast.

More information at https://plastic0pyr.wordpress.com/eng/

 Have you ever wondered about women limnologists and their success in a male-dominated field? We have decided to show you that limnology is full of fascinating women who have vastly contributed to our understanding of inland waters, and their achievements deserve to be known, disseminated and, of course, taught in the classroom. Our new project has taken off!

Through a series of online resources, the project Gender LIMNOEDU – Meet the women in Limnology: developing teaching resources for university, aims to increase the visibility of women in Limnology and other Geosciences-related fields (Ecology, Geology, Environmental Sciences) in high-education centers. This project has been led by the Gender and Science Commission Group of the Iberian Association of Limnology (AIL), and it was possible thanks to the voluntary work of many people, and the funding of the European Geoscience Union (EGU).

Central to Gender LIMNOEDU is a website where all the resources are publicly available. These resources are structured in three packages:

1)     Self-evaluation questionnaire to raise self-awareness of gender bias in Geoscience courses: we provide an online form to help self-evaluate and identify gender-fair practices in geosciences lectures.

2)     Teaching resources to incorporate women into Limnology courses: a multi-faceted teaching resource (pdf index cards) that shows the most relevant discoveries, science, and biography of brilliant female limnologists (more than 40 researchers).

3)     Specific teaching units to increase the visibility of women in Limnology: this teaching resource highlights the contribution of pioneers and the current situation of women researchers in the field.

Help us close the knowledge gender gap in Geosciences and share this announcement widely to all the interested parties.

Best wishes,

Gender&Science Group Commission of the AIL

Buscamos candidata/o para la participar en la convocatoria de contratos predoctorales FPU (Ayudas para la formación de profesorado universitario), de cuatro años de duración. En caso de conseguir el contrato, realizaría su investigación en el marco del proyecto “Dinámica de metacomunidades de macroinvertebrados en lagunas alpinas y cambio climático (ALPINECHANGE)”, recientemente financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (PID2019-108895GB-I00). La persona a contratar se incorporará al Departamento de Zoología de la Universidad de Sevilla, pero se integrará dentro de un equipo amplio formado también por investigadores de la Universidad de Murcia. La convocatoria FPU está prevista que se publique en octubre/noviembre de este año.

El objetivo de la tesis doctoral a desarrollar es investigar los factores que determinan la distribución espacial de los macroinvertebrados que conviven en lagunas alpinas de Sierra Nevada, su dinámica de metapoblaciones y mecanismos de coexistencia, así como estudiar los efectos del cambio climático sobre la estructura de las metacomunidades, con un foco especial sobre los coleópteros acuáticos. El trabajo incluirá trabajo de campo, análisis de biología molecular en laboratorio, experimentos de fisiología, y trabajo de gabinete.

Los requisitos necesarios para esta convocatoria son:

- Estar en posesión de un máster universitario oficial en el momento de presentación de la solicitud o haber realizado la matrícula en el curso 2020-2021 en un máster universitario oficial que de acceso a un programa de doctorado en el curso 2021-2022.

- Nota media del expediente académico superior a 8,0 sobre 10.

Además, el candidato deberá tener alta motivación para realizar una tesis doctoral y voluntad de formarse como investigador/a en ecología de ecosistemas acuáticos, conocimientos básicos de manejo estadístico de datos y permiso de conducir tipo B1. Se valorará también buena capacidad de comunicación oral y escrita en inglés.

Contacto: Los interesados deben mandar su CV (con expediente académico) y carta de motivación a Pedro Abellán (pabellan@us.es), antes del 30 de octubre de 2020.

The Jefferson Project at Lake George (https://jeffersonproject.rpi.edu/) is hiring two post-docs to conduct research in freshwater ecology. Research topics include invasive species, salinization, eutrophication, algal blooms, and global warming. The post-docs will conduct basic and applied experiments across multiple venues including the lab, land-based mesocosms, and in-lake mesocosms. They will also analyze high-frequency data from our highly advanced network of weather, stream, and lake sensors.

The Jefferson Project is an unprecedented research endeavor devised to study stream, wetland, and lake ecosystems by using Smart-Sensor technologies, leading-edge experiments, and advanced, coupled computer models of the weather, runoff, lake circulation, and food webs. It is a collaboration between Rensselaer, IBM, and the FUND for Lake George. The Jefferson Project is serving as a global model for understanding and protecting freshwater ecosystems.

The post-docs will collaborate with Rensselaer researchers, including experts in Ecology, Evolution, Limnology, Engineering, Big Data, Computer Science, Cognitive Science (AI), and the Arts. They will also collaborate with researchers from the FUND for Lake George and IBM Research, including experts in Meteorology, Hydrology, Cyber-infrastructure, and Data Visualization. Collectively, The Jefferson Project team of researchers focuses on moving from science to solutions, as we build the future of freshwater protection.

Applicants should send (in pdf format) a cover letter, CV, research statement, and a list of 3 references to Rick Relyea (relyer@rpi.edu). Applications will be reviewed as they arrive. The desired start date is August or September 2019.

Basic Description of the Laboratory Activities

The laboratory engages in both basic and applied research, university education and commercial activities in the field of aquatic toxicology, biochemistry and environmental chemistry. Our research is focused on fate and effects of extraneous substances, esp. pharmaceuticals, personal care products and pesticides, in
aquatic environment. The laboratory activity is focused on occurrence of xenobiotic substances in water ecosystems and investigation of their impact on exposed organisms. Laboratory scale toxicological studies belong to important part of experimental activities as well as field sampling of water and fish. Experiments are mainly focused on impact assessment of selected chemical compounds (currently especially pharmaceuticals and pesticides) on model organisms. Effect of xenobiotic substances present in the aquatic environment on fish is studied especially by biochemical markers of contamination in fish tissues. We are equipped by advanced analytical instrumentation (three QqQ MS/MS and two hybrid HRMS) and the newest software packages for data processing.

Postdoc Work Description

- Research in the field of environmental biochemistry focused on impact of extraneous substances, esp. pharmaceuticals, personal care products and pesticides on exposed organisms
- Research of transformation processes and degradation pathways of pharmaceuticals occurring under the environmental conditions
- Biochemical assays, basic instrumental analysis (HPLC/MSMS; HPLC/HRMS; GC/MS); evaluation and publication of obtained results
- Active team work on scientific projects and other activities of the laboratory
- Active cooperation with top research groups in the field (Umea University, SLU Uppsala, CESAM – University of Aveiro)

Specific Requirements for Open Competition

1. Ph.D. degree.
2. Good knowledge of the English language (FCE or the equivalent)
3. Active publishing in Q1 journals. At least 1 publication in a journal with IF>1 as the first author. Further on, at least 3 papers in the IF>1 journals with the
candidate’s co-authorship are required.
4. Practical experience with animal experiments and biochemical assays
5. Basic skills on HPLC-GC/MS techniques are advantageous
6. The vision of the postdoc’s work in this workplace, motivation

Necessary Documents
1. CV
2. A copy of the Ph.D. degree or similar degree if studied abroad (an English or Czech translation if necessary)
3. The applicant’s bibliography, plan of scientific activities, list of fellowships and stays

Please send all requested documents to mprusova@frov.jcu.cz or per post to the Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters, Economic office, Dipl.-Ing. Mirka Prusova, Zatisi 728/II, 389 01 Vodnany, Czech Republic.

The candidates, who do not meet the above mentioned criteria, will not pass this evaluation step. Only candidates meeting the qualification requirements will be considered for the interview with evaluation committee (the second phase).

Important date for applicants

First phase: September 25th 2019 is the deadline for application submission.
Second phase: October 3rd – interview (possible via Skype)

Form of employment

Full time job.
Workplace: Zatisi 728/II, Vodnany, Czech Republic (120 km south of Prague)

Contract duration

2 years; 2019-2020.

Salary

35 000 CZK/month (1 350 EUR/month, brutto). + other significant benefits
Living cost for single person can be assumed as 500 EUR/month in this location.

More information on the Postdoc position by:
Assoc. prof. Vladimír Žlábek
University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice
Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters
Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Biochemistry
vzlabek@frov.jcu.cz
+420 777 698 427
Mailing address: Zátiší 728/II, 389 25 Vodňany
www.frov.jcu.cz

Aquatic-terrestrial interfaces under anthropogenic stress

As part of the research training group SystemLink – Crossing boundaries: Propagation of in-stream environmental alterations to adjacent terrestrial ecosystems funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) – GRK2360 the iES Landau, Institute for Environmental Sciences, University Koblenz–Landau, Campus Landau, Germany offers

12 doctoral research positions (PhD students) for 3 years from 1 October 2019 (gross salary approx. 30 k € p.a.; 13 TV-L 65%). 

Streams are hotspots of ecological and biogeochemical processes, but are strongly influenced by humans. In SystemLink, we focus on the propagation of anthropogenic stressors from aquatic to terrestrial ecosystems. We study how micropollutants and invasive species affect riparian ecosystems through abiotic (flooding and sedimentation) and biotic processes (insect and amphibian emergence). The focus will be on all compartments of the ecosystems, including waterbodies, soils and aboveground food webs.

The 12 PhD researchers will work within small teams, yet together as an entire group on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. They will conduct experiments in unique aquatic-terrestrial mesocosm facilities combined with laboratory and field research, or develop and apply process-based environmental models. Most PhD projects will combine at least two of these approaches. Methods include molecular diagnostic tools (e.g. metabarcoding), food-web analysis (e.g. stable isotope
analyses), advanced methods in soil physics and chemistry (e.g. NMR relaxometry, Lattice Boltzmann methods), trace chemical analytics (e.g. triple quad LC-MS/MS), greenhouse gases (GC-MS) or food-web and meta-ecosystem modelling. An individualized course program will complement the research work. The positions are temporary in line with the applicable German Law (WissZeitVG).

Successful candidates will hold a diploma or MSc in a relevant topic such as environmental sciences, ecology, biogeochemistry, physics, environmental modelling or similar. Fluent English talking and writing skills as well as solid background e.g. in analytical techniques, statistical approaches or experimental environmental sciences are required. A strong motivation to work in
teams, to publish research articles, and to finish a PhD thesis within three years is needed.

It is the policy of the University Koblenz-Landau to increase the percentage of female PhD candidates. If equally qualified, preference will be given to female applicants. Disabled candidates are given priority, if equally qualified.

Please send your applications (1 pdf file, max 10 MB), specifying for which PhD position you
apply, with a 1-page letter of motivation, a reference letter from a mentor, degree certificates, a CV and a list of publications/presentations until 17 May 2019 via email to bewerbung@uni-koblenz-landau.de. Please make sure to mention your name and the reference number 49/2019 in the subject line of the email. Potential candidates shall be prepared to participate in a three-day workshop in Landau between 9 and 11 July 2019. For further details on the announced positions and on the application procedure please see www.systemlink.uni-landau.de or contact the speaker of SystemLink Prof. Dr. Ralf Schulz (schulz@uni-landau.de).

We do not send an acknowledgment of receipt. You will receive information about the result of your candidature. Data destruction after the conclusion of the selection procedure is assured.

The Biology Department at the University of San Diego seeks a recent Ph.D. who has a proven record and commitment to empowering students from communities that are underrepresented in academia through research, creative activity, teaching, service and/or mentoring. We are especially interested in advancing the perspectives of African Americans, American Indian/Alaskan Natives, Filipinas/os/x, Chicanas/os/x, Latinas/os/x and /or Pacific Islanders.

Specifically, we seek to sponsor a postdoctoral fellow with an interest in aquatic ecology and/or quantitative biology. In addition to conducting collaborative research on Southern California’s aquatic ecosystems, the fellow will teach three courses per year, which may include introductory courses for biology majors, scientific inquiry courses for non-majors, and/or upper division courses related to the fellow’s area of expertise. The successful applicant will be encouraged to develop research projects based on their own interests and will have opportunities to interact with faculty across STEM departments and with the Center for Educational Excellence. USD is an independent Catholic university whose primary aim is teaching excellence. This two-year position will give postdocs experience researching and teaching at a small liberal arts college and working in a collegial student-centered environment. Awards include a competitive salary, benefits package, and travel funds for conference participation.

Required qualifications: The position requires a PhD in biology, ecology, or a related discipline. Candidates must have completed their PhD before the starting date (August 2019).

Desired qualifications:

• Experience in community ecology, particularly aquatic ecology and/or multivariate methods
• Experience with aquatic invertebrate identification
• Experience with statistical software R or other programming languages
• Interest in teaching Biostatistics
• Candidates who have not yet had a tenure-track faculty position will have priority.

To apply: Submit the following items to Jobs@USD:

http://jobs.sandiego.edu/cw/en-us/job/492502/diversity-postdoctoral-faculty

• Cover letter
• Curriculum vitae
• Statement of teaching philosophy, including a statement about your experience teaching and mentoring students from communities that have historically been underrepresented
• Statement of research/creative activity including goals for the next two years and a sample of scholarly or creative work
• Sample syllabus for a course in your area of expertise and a summary of teaching evaluations (if available)

The University of San Diego is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not discriminate based upon race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, pregnancy, age, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, covered veteran status, genetic information, or other characteristic protected by federal or state law. The University of San Diego is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. USD offers same sex domestic partner benefits. Final candidates will complete a pre-employment background check.

Please contact Dr. Kate Boersma at kateboersma@sandiego.edu with any questions.

Location: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brasil.

Project: Linking metapopulation processes and metacommunity stability, investigating how spatial grain and extent, environmental heterogeneity and species traits determine stability across spatial scales (i.e., alpha, beta, gama stability).

Registration is open until 15/11/2018.

Selection process

- written examination (about general topics in Ecology, including fundamental concepts of population, community and ecosystem ecology)

- interview

- project defense

For more information please contact: 

Prof. Dr. Andros T. Gianuca

Professor of Ecology @ UFRN – Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brasil.

e-mail: agianuca@hotmail.com

The EU Research Infrastructure project AQUACOSM (http://aquacosm.eu) has opened the Call for Transnational Access to fund participation or leadership of mesocosm experiments in 2019. We open for access to more than 37 aquatic mesocosm facilities, located at 19 AQUACOSM partners throughout Europe. In total AQUACOSM will offer more than 11500 person-days of Transnational Access (TA) between Jan 2018 and Dec 2020. This call opens for >3800 person days.

AQUACOSM offers funding for mesocosm experiments through a unique collaborative international project, representing a full cross section of Aquatic Ecosystems. The ecosystems represent a range from freshwater to estuarine and marine systems, covering the Sub-Arctic to the Mediterranean and beyond, from mountains to lowlands spanning from ultra-oligotrophic to hyper-eutrophic conditions, including benthic and pelagic systems.

AQUACOSM specifically aims to promote effective international scientific collaboration and technological knowledge transfer across traditional barriers between regions, countries and traditionally separated science disciplines, such a marine and freshwater research. As up to 20% of the funded participants may be from countries outside the European Union and its associated member states. It also represents a truly world-wide opportunity!

Application deadline is 30 Oct 2018, 13:00 CET.

Further information on the TA application process is available at https://www.aquacosm.eu/transnational-access/.

Contact of TA-team: TA@aquacosm.eu

Dr. Stella A. Berger
Leader of the AQUACOSM Transnational Access Programme
Berger@igb-berlin.de

Dr. Tatiana Tsagaraki
Co-Leader of the AQUACOSM Transnational Access Programme
Tatiana.Tsagaraki@uib.no

CIFRE SCHOLARSHIP: Impact of hydrological alteration on mountain aquatic ecosystems in the French Alps.

TEREO – St. Helena Lake (A. Dos Santos), IRSTEA – Lyon (St. Cauvy-Fraunié, N. Lamouroux)

from autumn 2018

Context

Mountain watersheds display particularly complex hydrographic networks, characterized by a high environmental heterogeneity as they include streams from different water sources (groundwater, rain, snowmelt, glacier melt), which present specific hydrological regimes and environmental conditions (Hannah et al., 2007, Cauvy-Fraunié et al., 2015). These alpine hydrosystems shelter a singular local biodiversity and exhibit a high spatial variability in aquatic communities at the catchment scale (Jacobsen et al., 2012, Cauvy-Fraunié et al., 2016). However, these aquatic ecosystems are strongly threatened by hydrological alterations due to both the reduction in snow cover and the acceleration of glacier shrinkage linked to the ongoing climate change but also to anthropogenic pressures on water resource (hydropower, industry, irrigation, artificial snow; Campion, 2002). In addition, in the current political context of greenhouse gas reduction, we are experiencing a proliferation of renewable energy production projects, in particular micro-hydropower plants. Among the existing tools allowing to predict the impacts of hydrological alterations on aquatic communities, hydraulic habitat models are particularly used. These models combine both hydraulic models and biological models of hydraulic preferences of aquatic organisms. Statistical models of hydraulic habitat, partly developed by our team (Dynam, Irstea – Lyon), allow determining the frequency distribution of velocity, water level, substrate and near-bed shear stress at the reach scale for a given discharge (Lamouroux et al., 1999, 2002, 2005, Girard et al., 2014). The hydraulic preferences of the organisms link the densities of the organisms with hydraulic habitats. The combination of these two types of models allows quantifying the impact of flow alteration on the probability of organism occurrence, and thus evaluating the effect of infrastructures on the aquatic ecosystem. However, hydraulic preference models were mostly developed for fish. Although there are some studies on invertebrates (Dolédec et al., 2007, Mérigoux et al., 2009), these eco-hydrological models have not yet been adapted to mountain streams, especially in fishless streams.

Therefore, it is urgent to examine the ecosystem functioning of these mountain streams to characterize the relationship between hydraulic conditions and aquatic organisms, especially invertebrates, in order to predict the response of aquatic ecosystems to hydrological alterations. The main aim of this thesis is to qualify and quantify the impact of hydrological alterations on mountain aquatic ecosystems, based on aquatic invertebrate communities.

The main objectives of this project will be to:

1) characterize the hydrological and thermal regime (temporal variability of flow and temperature), environmental conditions (turbidity, conductivity …) and aquatic invertebrate communities of each different type of alpine rivers.

2) estimate the impacts of flow alteration on aquatic invertebrate communities based on the combination of hydraulic models and hydraulic preferences.

3) assess the effects of flow modification due to micro-hydropower plants on invertebrate communities based on comparison of aquatic communities upstream and downstream various micro-hydropower plants.

Environment 

The student will be based at both the laboratory DYNAM (UR RiverLy), IRSTEA supervised by Sophie Cauvy-Fraunié and Nicolas Lamouroux (IRSTEA) in Lyon and at TEREO office (www.tereo-eren.fr/) in Saint-Hélène-du-Lac supervised by Anne Dos Santos. The student will be ~ 60% at IRSTEA and 40% at TEREO. Part of the data is already available. The student will perform two field campaigns: summer 2019 and 2020 where he/she will perform hydrological/hydraulic measurements and sample aquatic invertebrates. He/she will participate to both invertebrate sorting, counting and identifying. The student will develop both hydraulic and biologic models.

Profile required

We are looking for a motivated, curious, and independent student, with a research master degree. He/she should have a strong interest in aquatic ecosystems, hydrology and invertebrates. He/she should also show interest in field work (especially in the mountain) and multidisciplinary work. He/she should have a good knowledge of hydrology and/or ecology of aquatic systems. The study requires a solid experience in statistics and data processing as well as a good knowledge of the English language. An experience on aquatic invertebrate determination is advantageous. The thesis will start from fall 2018.

Contact : 

Sophie Cauvy-Fraunié : sophie.cauvy-fraunie@irstea.fr

Anne Dos Santos: a.dossantos@tereo-eren.fr

Send a CV and a cover letter as soon as possible, the call for applications will be open until the position is filled.

References: 

Cauvy-Fraunié S., Andino P., Espinosa R., Calvez R., Jacobsen D. & Dangles O. (2016) Ecological responses to experimental glacier-runoff reduction in alpine rivers. Nature Communications.

Cauvy-Fraunié S., Espinosa R., Andino P., Jacobsen D. & Dangles O. (2015) Invertebrate metacommunity structure and dynamics in an andean glacial stream network facing climate change. PloS one, 10, e0136793.

Doledec S., Lamouroux N., Fuchs U. & Merigoux S. (2007) Modelling the hydraulic preferences of benthic macroinvertebrates in small European streams. Freshwater Biology, 52, 145-164.

Girard V., Lamouroux N. & Mons R. (2014) Modeling point velocity and depth statistical distributions in steep tropical and alpine stream reaches. Water Resources Research, 50, 427-439.

Hannah D.M., Brown L.E., Milner A.M., Gurnell A.M., Mcgregor G.R., Petts G.E., Smith B.P.G. & Snook D.L. (2007) Integrating climate–hydrology–ecology for alpine river systems. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 17, 636-656.

Jacobsen D., Milner A.M., Brown L.E. & Dangles O. (2012) Biodiversity under threat in glacier-fed river systems. Nature Climate Change, 2, 361-364.

Merigoux S., Lamouroux N., Olivier J.M. & Doledec S. (2009) Invertebrate hydraulic preferences and predicted impacts of changes in discharge in a large river. Freshwater Biology, 54, 1343-1356.

We are glad to announce that we start a new series of blog posts where we will post PhD studies of early career scientists. They will explain the findings from their research and possible applications. If you want to prepare a summary post about your studies, we would be happy to share.

The first one of this series comes from Ignasi Arranz.

Happy reading!

About Ignasi :

I started my PhD at the University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (Barcelona, Spain) focusing on the size structure of fish assemblages in European lakes. During my thesis, I gave several talks in international and national conferences as well as disseminated my research to the local community and students by organizing several seminars and teaching classes. I successfully defended my Ph.D. in July 2017 with several publications in high impact scientific journals. I am currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at University of Concordia (Montreal, Canada) with the supervision of Professor Pedro R. Peres-Neto.

Title of the thesis: The body size structure of lake fish and its response to biotic interactions and environmental variation

Summary:

Body size is perhaps the easiest metric to quantify in an organism but with a powerful background in ecology. It can be considered as a predictor of the basal metabolism and used at different spatial scales, group of organisms and levels of organization regardless species identity. This is for a relevance importance since functional traits are considered relevant to predict species loss or habitat fragmentation triggered by the ongoing global change. At a larger biological organization, the body size structure represents the negative relationship between the numerical abundance of organisms and their individual size. The parameters derived from the size structure can estimate community and population properties such as trophic transfer of energy, total biomass productivity or diversity of functional roles in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

The research conducted in my Ph.D. focused on the study of body size structure (i.e. the relationship between organisms’ body size and abundance) in lake-fish systems at different ecological (both fish populations and communities) and spatial scales (at regional and continental scales). The general objectives of the thesis were twofold: 1) to understand the trophic interactions in fish communities and populations as well as the effect of environmental and anthropogenic factors in lake systems; and 2) to expand the focus on fish-size structure and integrate other functional and taxonomic approaches aimed at increasing our current knowledge about trophic interactions among lake-fishes. This was done by using one of the largest dataset in freshwater fish that encompassed large-scale biotic and abiotic gradients in European lakes (Fig. 1).

Figure 1. Map of the geographic position of the total lakes and reservoirs included in the thesis. Blue squares are the reservoirs from the reports of the CHE (Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro) of the Iberian Peninsula. Yellow circles are the lakes from the European lake database. Green rhombuses are the lakes from Turkey. Red triangles are the lakes from Greenland. Note that the triangles and circles denominating the position of the lakes in Greenland, Germany, France and Sweden are overlapped.

In general, the fish size structure responded more strongly and consistently to density-dependent effects than the environmental variables and anthropogenic pressures. That is, in situations with high fish densities, disproportionally more number of small fish than large fish occupy small size classes resulting in steeper slopes, narrower size diversity and smaller mean body size for most fish populations. From a fisheries management point of view, this is quite relevant because we can control fish-size and productivity of small fish by controlling total abundance.

One of the main goals of the second part of thesis was to explore the relationship between the size diversity and species diversity. The relationship can determine the degree of overlap in size among species and thereby the overlap in niches in a fish community across different spatial scales (both continental and regional scale). The main result suggested that species diversity is not a strong surrogate of size diversity in European lake fish communities, particularly in cold regions where only few species occur but large size ranges are found.

The PhD thesis concluded that fish size structure responded to trophic interactions as well as to environmental variables and anthropogenic pressures. Moreover, the fish size structure approach coupled with other functional and taxonomic approaches allowed detecting the importance of anthropogenic effects on fish community or population structure; as well as forecasting their vulnerability to environmental change with relevant implications for conservation ecology and fisheries management. Within the context of the Water Framework Directive, the fish size structure may be used as a bioindicator for the management of freshwater ecosystems, after controlling for trophic interactions and natural variation that may significantly modify the size structure.

We are seeking information from instructors at institutions of higher-education who are currently leading, or are interested in leading, efforts to collect ecological data through class-based activities. This survey takes approximately 15 – 20 minutes to complete, and will contribute to a global review on the extent and types of ecological data collected by students, and provide insight into the opportunities and challenges associated with these class-based efforts to support desired educational and scientific outcomes. We ask that you complete this survey and/or forward this survey to colleagues or your association list-serve (if applicable). The survey can be found at the HEED Survey link:

http://washington.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9pnee1codxAuBrn.

We ask that you complete the survey by *May 24, 2018*. All responses are anonymous.

*Background*

Many classes (courses, units, modules, etc,) in institutions of higher-education (including universities and colleges) have field
excursions where instructors guide students in the collection of ecological and environmental data. Although data collection during class field excursions are undoubtedly occurring, there is little understanding of the geographic extent and characteristics of these efforts, and the institutional and logistic challenges and opportunities that instructors have when maintaining, or considering new, class field excursions.

In order to address this issue, we are seeking the opinion of instructors from institutions of higher-education. Please click
<http://washington.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9pnee1codxAuBrn>

here

<http://washington.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9pnee1codxAuBrn>

to complete the survey. Also, we ask that you forward this e-mail to any colleagues or organizations to reach other instructors who are currently, or might be interested in, leading class-based efforts to collect ecological data. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the Olden Research Lab (oldenlab@uw.edu). Thank you very much for your time!

Sincerely,

Julian Olden and the Freshwater Ecology and Conservation Lab @ UW
Higher Education Ecological Data (HEED) Survey Team (oldenlab@uw.edu)
Seattle, Washington, 98105, United States
https://depts.washington.edu/oldenlab/

Very recent studies indicate that microplastics (MP) is present in the Southern Ocean, however, many questions are open, such as: What type of MP are present, and in which region and compartments of the ocean? Is there evidence for MP originating outside of Antarctic waters? The research group man-society-environment of the University of Basel will explore in this project MP occurrence and distribution in water, sediment and possibly also in icecores and biota. The MP will be analysed in terms of its physical and chemical characteristics, such as polymer composition and size. To obtain further insights into the origins and impacts of MP, the PhD project is part of a larger inter and transdisciplinary international project where the microbial community composition and the load of organic persistent pollutants will be studied and a comparison to MP from southern gyres will be conducted.

Your position

 Study of microplastics occurrence and distribution in the Southern Ocean

 Characterisation of microplastics from various compartments, such as water surface, water column, sediment, possibly biota.

 Contribution to the inter- and transdiscplinary evaluation of results of all project partners to assess the origin and entry pathways of microplastics in the Southern Ocean

Your profile

 Master’s degree in environmental sciences or other natural science studies

 Knowledge of methods for field work is appreciated, especially knowledge of methods on investigation of microplastics (e.g. sampling methods, FTIR or Raman spectroscopy, etc.)

 Knowledge and experience in quantitative methods and statistics

 Enthusiasm, responsibility, flexibility and independently working

 Ability to work in different teams and build network

 Field-working ability

We offer you

 4 year position, starting September 2018 (negotiable)

 Integration in two active and dynamic research units with experience on microplastics studies (Dr. G. Gerdts, AWI, Helgoland, Prof. Dr. P. Holm, University of Basel)

 Modern research facilities and scientific environment, in Basel and in labs of project partners in Helgoland, Alfred-Wegener-Institute

 Participation in research expedition(s) to the Southern Ocean

 An atmosphere of collaboration and cooperativeness including weekly discussion of results

 Support with technical assistance

 The possibility to teach in the Master of Sustainable Development program (www.msd.unibas.ch)

 Participation at conferences with presentations of own contributions

 Support in publishing results in peer-reviewed journals

Application / Contact

Prof. Dr. Patricia Holm, Universität Basel, Dept. Environmental Sciences, Man-Society-Environment (MGU) Vesalgasse 1, CH-4051 Basel, Schweiz, Tel.: +41-61 207 04 02, E-mail: patricia.holm@unibas.ch Dr. Gunnar Gerdts, Shelf Seas Systems Ecology, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for polar and marine research, Tel. +49-4725 819 3245, E-mail: gunnar.gerdts@awi.de Applicants are requested to submit a letter of motivation, CV and contact information of three potential referees in one single PDF document. Closing date: May, 15th 2018.

Two PhD projects to research how temperature and seasonal and daily temperature variability affect biodiversity, temperature tolerance and dispersal.

Predicting effects of changes in climatic conditions on the distribution of species remains highly challenging. Climate change is predicted to increase both mean temperature and variability in temperature, and it is critical to have a strong mechanistic understanding of how organisms are likely to respond to future thermal environments. The Climate Variability Hypothesis (Janzen 1967) relates seasonal thermal variability to species’ distributions, thermal niches, dispersal ability and population genetic structure. Other hypotheses consider how daily and other shorter term temperature variability affects organisms’ thermal tolerance and performance. These PhD projects will test these hypotheses using freshwater invertebrate communities along elevation gradients at different latitudes in Australia and compare to existing data from the Americas.

PhD 1 – will test these hypotheses with respect to the thermal and elevational distribution of stream invertebrate species, their population genetic structuring and dispersal.

PhD 2 – will test these hypotheses with respect to the thermal tolerance of stream invertebrate and their performance (e.g. growth) at different temperature regimes.

Each PhD student will have a scholarships valued at A$36,000/year (tax free) to cover living expenses, plus generous project support from an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project. The scholarship/project is for three years and can be extended only under extenuating circumstances.

The projects and scholarships are open to all outstanding students regardless of citizenship on a competitive basis. International students will receive a fee waiver.

The students will be supervised by: Associate Professor Ben Kefford and Professor Ross Thompson – University of Canberra; Professor LeRoy Poff -University of Canberra and Colorado State University; Professor Jane Hughes – Griffith University; and Professor Damien Burrows – James Cook University.

Both students will be enrolled at the University of Canberra’s high performing Institute for Applied Ecology see https://www.canberra.edu.au/research/institutes/iae. It is anticipated that PhD 1 will be based in Canberra at the University of Canberra and PhD 2 will initially be based in Townsville (at James Cook University) and then at Canberra.

Both projects will involve field work and collection of new data in the Australian Alps and the Wet Tropics of Queensland, Australia. Existing data from Colorado, USA and Ecuador will be incorporated into the project for a large comparative study.

Students must satisfy the entry requirements of the University of Canberra including showing evidence that they meet the English requirements see: https://www.canberra.edu.au/future-students/research-students/english-proficiency

For further information please contact Ben Kefford by email ben.kefford@canberra.edu.au.

How to apply

If you wish to apply, please email Ben Kefford no later than 31 May 2018 and provide the following:

•  your resume;
•  a cover letter that addresses how you meet each of the selection criteria, below;
• your academic transcript(s);
• 1-2 examples of scientific writing that you solely or (in the case of multi-authored documents) predominantly authored (any unpublished MS will be treated confidentially);
• the details of three referees that we can contact for information about you; and
• when you would be available to start the PhD.

Ensure that you clearly indicate which PhD project you are applying for or if you are applying for both, which you would prefer.  Please include the following “applying for thermal variability PhD” and your full name in the subject line of your email.

Selection criteria

1.     A relevant undergraduate degree with 1^st class honours, research masters or equivalent in one of the following disciplines: Ecology, Freshwater Biology, Ecophysiology or Population Genetics. Ideally students would have some study/experience in more than one of the above disciplines.

2.     An excellent to outstanding academic record. If there are reasons why some of your academic transcript does not show your ability, explain why.

3.     Ability to undertake field work in remote locations.

4.     Ability to undertake laboratory work, including the identification of invertebrates.

5.     A working knowledge of statistical analysis used in ecological studies.

6.     Evidence of high standard of scientific writing.

7.     Show evidence of meeting the English requirements of the University of Canberra see: https://www.canberra.edu.au/future-students/research-students/english-proficiency

The DFG Research Training Group UWI currently offers 13 PhD positions for 3 years (under the reserve that funds are gran­ted). The advertised UWI PhD positions are organised in four common topic groups. We invite suitable candidates to apply for the UWI PhD positions listed below. Detailed information on each project and requirements can be found by following the respective link of each project.

Interfaces in urban lakes

U1 – Interactions between invasive ecosystem engineers and bank filtration in urban lakes
U2 – Cyanobacteria dynamics at the lake – land interface (littoral zone)
U3 – Impact of management measures on sediment water interface in an urban lake
U4 – The GHG Footprint of a Metropolitan Area

Interfaces in hyporheic zone

H1 – Retention of trace organics in urban hyporheic bioreactors
H2 – Integral modelling approach for flow and reactive transport at surface water – groundwater interfaces
H3 – Abiotic transformation of organic trace compounds
H4 – Redox gradients in natural and technical systems: Population structure and physiological properties

Interfaces in watershed

W1 – Ecohydrological controls on urban groundwater recharge: an isotope-based modelling approach
W2 – Scaling and connectivity assessment of critical source areas of diffuse pollution in urban catchments
W3 – Heat and vapour fluxes of urban vegetation patterns – a remote sensing based approach

Interfaces in sewers

S1 – Corrosion and odour in sewers caused by biochemical processes of sulphurous compounds
S2 – Three-phase simulation model for odour and corrosion in sewer systems

Applicants should submit the following documents: letter of motivation indicating research interests and experience and the project key(s) (U1-U4, H1-H4, W1-W3, S1-S2), CV including 2 references, letter of recommendation (preferably from a professor), Bachelor and Master certificates, Master Thesis. Please send your application in a single PDF containing all application documents using the online UWI application platform under: https://webserver.service.tu-berlin.de/candidate.php

See also:

http://www.uwi.tu-berlin.de/menue/job_offers/

The UFZ offers the following 4 PhD positions:

In the framework of the integrated project “Linking catchment scale nutrient export to pelagic, benthic and hyporheic ecosystem functioning across stressor gradients“,

1) Data-driven analysis of nutrient in-stream processing and modelling beyond the river reach scale: https://recruitingapp-5128.de.umantis.com/Vacancies/1247/Description/2

2) Quantification of whole-stream and compartmental nutrient uptake: https://recruitingapp-5128.de.umantis.com/Vacancies/1248/Description/2

3) Biological control of compartmental and whole-stream nutrient uptake: https://recruitingapp-5128.de.umantis.com/Vacancies/1249/Description/2

4) Disentangling the effects of light, nutrients, fine sediment on compartmental and whole-stream nutrient uptake in flume experiments: https://recruitingapp-5128.de.umantis.com/Vacancies/1250/Description/2

contact: Dr. Mario Brauns
Working group: Food web ecology
Department River Ecology
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ
Brückstr. 3a / 39114 Magdeburg / Germany
Phone +49 391 810 9140, Fax +49 391 810 9150
mario.brauns@ufz.de

Vacancy Area: Scientific and Technical

 The Department of Water-Atmosphere-Environment, Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic EcosystemManagement is currently seeking an experienced Postdoctoral Research Associate in aquatic ecology with expertise in complementary fields to the working groups at the institute

- Potential topics could be, but not limited to these: foodweb modelling, integrated biodiversity research, aquatic ecosystem services.

- Extent of employment: 20 Hours per Week

- Duration of employment: 01st  of January 2018, limited to 31st  of December 2023

- Gross monthly salary and pay grade in terms of collective agreement for university staff (payable 14 times per year): B1 lit. b, € 1.813,30

Responsibilities

- Development of new topics in that field at the institute, successful development and execution of research projects in basic and applied research

- Experience in conducting university courses in German and English

- Co-supervision of bachelor, master and PhD theses

- Establishing more intensified cooperation with other working groups at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna and at the WasserCluster Lunz

Skills and qualifications

- A strong background in running water ecology and a complementary topic to the existing working groups at the institute. Experience in applied research projects is of advantage

- Experience in presentations at international conferences and workshops, a number of publications in the respective field

- Skills in communication and team work in an international team and interdisciplinary teams

- Applications can be submitted until: 27th  of November 2017

- Full job description (only available in German) at: http://short.boku.ac.at/jobboerse

- Please send your job application incl. a description of the research vision to Personnel department,

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Peter-Jordan-Straße 70; E-Mail:

kerstin.buchmueller@boku.ac.at . (Reference code: 132)

 The Department of Water-Atmosphere-Environment, Institute for Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem

Management is currently seeking an experienced Postdoctoral Research Associate in historic riverine landscape research

- Extent of employment: 20 Hours per Week

- Duration of employment: 01st  of January 2018, limited to 31st  of December 2023

- Gross monthly salary and pay grade in terms of collective agreement for university staff (payable 14 times per year): B1 lit. b, € 1,813,30

Responsibilities

- Development of new topics in that field at the institute, successful development and execution of research projects in basic and applied research

- Experience in conducting university courses in German and English

- Co-supervision of bachelor, master and PhD thesis

- Establishing more intensified cooperation with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna and other research institutes

Skills and qualifications

- A strong background in several related fields such as e.g. environmental history, historic geomorphology, historic aquatic ecology in riverine landscapes, assessment and evaluation of human impacts in interrelationships

- Experience in presentations at international conferences and workshops, a number of publications in the respective field

- Skills in communication and team work in an international and interdisciplinary team

- Applications can be submitted until: 27th  of November 2017

- Full job description (only available in German) at: http://short.boku.ac.at/jobboerse

Please send your job application incl. a description of the research vision to Personnel department,

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Peter-Jordan-Straße 70; E-Mail:

kerstin.buchmueller@boku.ac.at . (Reference code: 131)

- The Department of Water-Atmosphere-Environment, Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management is currently seeking an experienced Postdoctoral Research Associate in aquatic ecology with emphasis on algal ecology in riverine landscapes

- Extent of employment: 20 Hours per Week

- Duration of employment: 01st  of January 2018, limited to 31st  of December 2023

- Workplace: Lunz & BOKU

- Gross monthly salary and pay grade in terms of collective agreement for university staff (payable 14 times per year): B1 lit. b, € 1.813,30

Responsibilities

- Development of new topics in that field at the institute, successful development and execution of research projects in basic and applied research

-Experience in conducting university courses in German and English

- Co-supervision of bachelor, master and PhD thesis

- Establishing more intensified cooperation with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna

Skills and qualifications

- A strong background in several related fields such as algal ecology, algal taxonomy, algal physiology, biochemical composition and related topics in aquatic ecology in stream and river systems

- Assessment and evaluation of river restoration works

- Experience in presentations at international conferences and workshops, a number of publications in the respective field

- Skills in communication and team work in an international team

Applications can be submitted until: 27th  of November 2017

Full job description (only available in German) at: http://short.boku.ac.at/jobboerse

Please send your job application incl. a description of the research vision to Personnel department,

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Peter-Jordan-Straße 70; E-Mail:

kerstin.buchmueller@boku.ac.at . (Reference code: 130)

We are seeking highly motivated postdoctoral and PhD researchers to join our research team at
the Institute of Marine Sciences, Middle East Technical University. The researchers will be working
with Dr. Korhan Özkan (www.korhanozkan.org) and Dr. Barış Salihoğlu. Both positions will be
funded from MARMOD Project (Integrated Modelling System for the Marmara Sea) and conduct
research principally on catchment-sea interactions around the Marmara Sea but also on the other
systems (for example Göksu Catchment in Mersin).
The tasks involved in the postdoctoral research project are:
• Investigating catchment-sea interactions using analyses of long term datasets and catchment
modelling tools (for example SWAT).
• Collaborate with a diverse group of scientist on MARMOD project and deliver project
related reports in collaboration with others.
• Helping with supervising a PhD student project on catchment ecology and modelling.
• Participating in regular fieldworks.
The postdoctoral researcher is required to have research experience in both aquatic ecology and
statistical/modelling approaches. Skills in SWAT and a background experience in fieldwork is a
plus. The postdoctoral researcher is expected to develop his/her own independent research.
The tasks involved in the PhD research project are:
• Studying catchment ecology and investigating catchment-sea interactions using analyses of
long term datasets and catchment modelling tools.
• Conduct regular fieldwork and laboratory analyses on catchment ecology
• Collating a database on study systems.
The PhD researcher is required to have basic knowledge on aquatic ecosystems and skills on
statistics and scripting. Previous experience in fieldwork and skills in taxonomy (fish, plankton, or a
similar aquatic organism group) or computational skills are a plus.
We offer a full-time post-doctoral position for 1 year and possibility of extension. The salary will
depend on the experience of the candidate. We offer a 2 years PhD stipend (2500 TL per month)
with possibility of extension.
The expected start date is January 2018 for both positions. The application deadline is Nov. 30, 2017
but we will accept applications until the position is filled.
Application:
Please send your CV and a brief letter of motivation to: okorhan@metu.edu.tr. You can also contact
okorhan@metu.edu.tr for informal inquiries.

In french

Postdoctoral Lake Research position at APHYS, ENAC-EPFL

The Laboratory of Physics of Aquatic Systems (APHYS) at the Institute of Environmental Engineering ENAC / EPFL Lausanne (Switzerland) has an opening for an early-career science postdoctoral position on modelling primary production (PP) in stratified lakes.

In collaboration with the Limnology Center at EPFL (http://limnc.epfl.ch) and partner institutions in and around Switzerland we have started an interdisciplinary project to estimate PP with new in-situ methods. To strengthen the team, we look for a postdoc with competence and experience in PP modelling. We expect a strong background in system analysis / model formulation, practical experience in working with large data sets from natural waters and the readiness and willingness to collaborate with related researchers in aquatic sciences, such as biology, biogeochemistry, remote sensing and hydrodynamics. As part of the interdisciplinary collaborative workstyle, we expect also participation in data collection on the to-be-built Research Platform on Lake Geneva (LéXPLORE) for high frequency interdisciplinary measurements and from boats. For more information see the Aquatic Physics website (http://aphys.epfl.ch/). This position is meant for at least two years, with the potential of prolongation, for a candidate who looks for a career in aquatic sciences.

Your profile

 PhD in aquatic sciences, environmental engineering, system analysis or modelling

 Research interest and background in aquatic physics, modelling, large data sets and interdisciplinary aquatic sciences projects

 Excellent communication skills (presentations, facilitating meetings, communicative relation to aquatic scientists in different disciplines)

 Demonstrated interest in a scientific career including quality publications

 Excellent knowledge of English (French is of additional advantage)

Your tasks

- Build-up of PP modelling competences

- Collaboration on existing and newly-acquired data sets; joint publications with partner scientists; field measurements (turbulence / microstructure); organization of workshops in interdisciplinary environment

- Supervision of Masters / PhD students within projects.

Starting date: immediately, on the basis of competitive application (position is open until filled; first interviews will be on 24 November 2017).

Contract duration: minimum 2 years (further extension on mutual agreement).

Contact: Applications should include (i) the CV, (ii) a motivation letter along with a research outline and (iii) three contacts for reference letters. Please, send your application by e-mail to alfred.wueest@epfl.ch.

The Politecnico di Torino is offering a research scholarships for post-graduate international candidates on the following research topic:

ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS ASSESSMENT IN INTERMITTENT RIVERS AND EPHEMERAL STREAMS (IRES).

 The call for proposals is available at the following link: http://dottorato.polito.it/en/research_scholarships

The deadline for submitting an application is set for the 16th of November 2017 at noon.

Candidates interested in the above mentioned topic must submit:

• an “endorsment letter” by the scientific responsible at Politecnico di Torino (Dr. Paolo Vezza)
• along with titles,
• CV and a
• language certificate.

There’s a letter template, a summary of the call and the research project (e-flows in IRES) here.

A University Internal Commission will evaluate the titles and documents submitted by the candidates and will draft a ranking based on merit to select the eligible candidates.

ON ZIENTZIA – Competition about scientific short videos

Within the framework of Teknopolis, a basque TV programme devoted to popularising science and technology, Elhuyar and the DIPC run the 8th edition of ON ZIENTZIA video competition.

The aim of the competition is to promote the production and dissemination of short, original videos on science and technology subjects that can be used by any kind of public for consultation purposes. The subject is totally free and can deal with one’s own or other people’s research, red-hot issues in society or the scientific community, personal scientific and technical passions, basic science concepts, scientific milestones, historical figures, science of the future or the past, etc.

Some inspiration from last years… 

Conditions for participation

The competition is open to all members of the public, of all ages and nationalities. Participation can be local or from abroad, including the worldwide research community. Participation can be on an individual or group basis.

All the participants are required to fill in the registration form that will be available on the www.onzientzia.tv website. All the fields are required ones and the organisation reserves the right to disqualify any participant or group that fails to fill the form in properly.

The registration will be open between 18 October 2017 and 25 April 2018. Any videos received after the deadline will be automatically rejected.

Submitting of videos

The participants are required to submit a brief video of less than 5 minutes on a scientific-technological subject in Basque, Spanish or English.

The video entered must be original, it may not be commercial, nor may it have been broadcast on television, and must of course be for a general audience. For this purpose the research team or individual participant may make use of artistic elements, music, images or anything else that they consider to be appropriate.

The videos must be submitted through the www.onzientzia.tv web site between 18 October 2017 and 25 April 2018.

It is advisable –but not compulsory– for the videos to be produced in the 16:9 format, since this is the format of Teknopolis, and the outstanding videos and the ones that receive the awards may be shown on the programme.

During the months that Teknopolis is on air –from October to June–different well-known personalities may select one video which, in their view, is the best. The videos selected by the guests may also be shown on the Teknopolis programme.

All the videos will be posted on the www.onzientzia.tv website.

Prizes

The jury will award three prizes:

• The prize of 3,000 euros for the best video
• The prize of 2,000 euros for the best video in Basque
• Young prize (under 18): 1,000 euros for the best video

The prize for best video in Basque is awarded to the best video submitted in Basque, in the event that this video has not gotten the prize for the best video.

The Young prize is awarded to the best video submitted by young people under 18, in the event that this video has not gotten any of the other two prizes. This prize aims to promote the participation of students under 18.

The submitted videos may not be awarded more than one prize. The organising committee reserves the right to award special prizes for videos which, according to its criteria, deserve some distinction or special mention for their characteristics.

The award giving ceremony will take place in June 2018 and will be shown on a special Teknopolis programme. During the award-giving ceremony the winning videos will be publicly screened and the jury’s decision will be declared.

Jury

The organising committee will undertake to appoint the members of the jury. The jury will be made up of five members.

The jury will establish the criteria for awarding points and appraising the videos entered for the competition. In any case, the jury’s appraisal will focus on the capacity to communicate and interest of the video, and less on its technical excellence. In other words, the appraisal will focus on the content rather than on the packaging. In any case, the jury’s decision will be final.

The jury may decide not to award one or more of the prizes.

Contact

For any doubts or clarification, please get in touch with the organisation at:

Manex Urruzola
elhuyar
Tel. 943363040
on@elhuyar.eus

More information

Contract linked to the TransHyMed research project

Pilar Llorens: pilar.llorens@idaea.csic.es

The Research, Development and Innovation Secretary of the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness is funding a 4-year PhD contract. This contract is associated to the project:

Patrones espacio-temporales de transferencia de agua en cuencas Mediterráneas de cabecera. Conexiones entre vegetación y respuesta hidrológica (TransHyMed) (CGL2016-75957-R).

Spatio-temporal patterns of water in headwater Mediterranean catchments. Links between vegetation and hydrological response.

Research activity will be developed within the Surface Hydrology and Erosion group at IDAEA-CSIC Barcelona, Spain (https://sites.google.com/site/surfacehydrologyerosioncsic/home)

For more information: transhymed_phd-opportunity

The Ecology and Ecosystem Health Research Unit at INRA/Agrocampus Ouest, Rennes, France invites applications for a one-year Postdoctoral Position in evolutionary toxicology. The hired postdoctoral fellow willdevelop a proteogenomic approach to investigate evolutionary factors affecting the response to chemical stress in a hermaphrodite organism used as model in ecotoxicology (pondsnail, Lymnaea stagnalis). Experimental lines exposed to a pro-oxidant or to benign conditions and maintained through selfing or outcrossing will be used to test hypotheses on putative mechanisms involved in molecular adaptation: transcriptional plasticity and signal transduction vs selective processes, influence of selfing on short-term response to selection. The post-doc will  be part of a larger project which has also a socio-economic scope, as it will provide data useful to fine-tune methods for ecological risk assessment and chemicals regulation, e.g., through the incorporation of high-resolution molecular biomarkers into OECD-supported advanced tools (see Adverse Outcome Pathway knowledge base, for molecular screening and toxicogenomics).

Lymnaea stagnalis 

Required profile: doctor (PhD) in toxicogenomics or in molecular ecotoxicology/stress ecology, with maximum 3 years of experience after thesis defense. An international experience in research is required (during or after Doctorate). Candidates must not have supported their thesis in the hiring institution (INRA) and not previously worked in the host research unit (UMR ESE).

The ideal candidate would have strong skills in bioinformatics, analysis of transcriptomic and proteomic data, a keen interest in environmental and eco-evolutionary issues, and should be willing to work as part of an ecology team.

The project is led by the team EPIX, whose research is focused on Evolutionary Ecology of Systems Perturbed by Biological Invasions and Xenobiotics. It will be conducted in collaboration with Dr Jean Armengaud, CEA, Laboratoire Innovations technologiques pour la Détection et le Diagnostic and with the Aquatic Ecology and Ecotoxicology Experimental Unit at INRA, Rennes, France.

Fundings : CNRS Ec2Co (Ecosphère Continentale et Côtière), Bretagne-Loire University, INRA.

Informal questions can be addressed to marie-agnes.coutellec@inra.fr

Applicants should send the following documents by email to marie-agnes.coutellec@inra.fr and copied to  UBL recherche@u-bretagneloire.fr:

1. short CV and a covering letter showing your interest and especially addressing your professional project,
2. a list of your major works (2 pages max.): scientific publications, patents and others scientific productions,
3. two letters of recommendation,
4. a copy of your PhD diploma.

The general selection process is described here.

Skills:

• Population dynamics modelling; a first experience in individual-based modelling would be an additional asset.
• Interest for programming.
• Knowledge in biological aquatic science would be appreciated.

Application deadline : 22 october 2017

Starting date : January 2018 Duration : 18 months

Location: Irstea, UR RECOVER 3275 Route de Cézanne – CS 40061, F-13182 Aix-en-Provence Cedex 5 France

http://www.irstea.fr/recover

For more information: http://www.irstea.fr/sites/default/files/freshco2017_postdoc1.pdf

The 2nd SIL student competition is open for applications till September 30! DON’T MISS THE DATE!

The competition is for the best published paper in Limnology appearing as part of a PhD or MSc thesis. The competition will have a national stage, run by the SIL National Representatives, followed by an international stage. The competition winner will be invited to give a plenary talk at the 2018 SIL Congress in Nanjing.

For details, instruction and application form visit the link in this page.

Deadline for submitting applications: 30 September 2017.
If you are not yet a SIL member – we invite you to join the society at www.limnology.org so that you too could submit your application.

Judit Padisak, SIL Student Competition Committee Chair
Tamar Zohary, SIL General Secretary-Treasurer

Position summary: A new position for a postdoctoral associate to collaborate with a vibrant, interdisciplinary research team working in freshwater ecology is available in the Carey Lab at Virginia Tech. This position is part of a recently-funded NSF project that will develop a water quality forecasting system for a drinking water supply reservoir and Global Lakes Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) site. As part of the project, we are combining high-frequency sensor monitoring, modeling, ecosystem forecasting, and data-intensive analytical approaches from ecology, computer science, and social science. This project is unique because it combines theory and application: we will be developing new, generalized approaches to forecasting that will be directly applied to managing the drinking water reservoir.

Required qualifications: We are seeking a creative and quantitative Ph.D. with significant research experience in freshwater science, especially the implementation of sensor networks and modeling. The successful applicant will collaborate with graduate students, post docs, and faculty to address fundamental questions surrounding the effects of changing climate and management on water quality dynamics in lake and reservoir catchments. Research activities will include: deploying a network of diverse sensors in a reservoir and its catchment to feed a data-model fusion system; using hydrodynamic-water quality simulation models to create water quality forecasts; and collaborating with reservoir managers. The successful applicant will have access to new distributed computing resources that have become recently available from GLEON-PRAGMA(Pacific Rim Applications and Grid Middleware Assembly) collaborations.

For more information: https://listings.jobs.vt.edu/postings/78848

We are back up and running under a new handle, if you want regular updates please follow @EFFS_EFYR

The international journal WATER has announced that the “2018 Water Young Investigator Award” is now open. All nominations and applications will be assessed by an Evaluation Committee led by the Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Arjen Y. Hoekstra, together with Associate Editors Prof. Dr. Athanasios Loukas, Prof. Dr. Y. Jun Xu and Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Püttmann.

Find out more here.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the award winning Environment Team at Nottingham Trent University (NTU). Working and liaising with University staff at all levels to gather user requirements and needs, you will assist the Environment Team in engagement with students and staff to support sustainability projects at NTU.  You will have excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to complete tasks to deadlines, ensuring a high level of accuracy at all times.

As an environmental professional, you will be a pro-active and self-motivated individual, with the ability to use your initiative, prioritise your own workload, along with the ability to work within a team.

For an informal discussion regarding this position, please contact Charmaine Morrell, Environmental Manager at  charmaine.morrell@ntu.ac.uk or via telephone on 0115 848 4045.

Please see the job description and person specification for further details about the role.

Contact: Rachel Stubbington (@rstubbington) rachel.stubbington@ntu.ac.uk

Project Description

Funding Notes

This studentship is open to applicants wishing to study for a PhD full-time, and is expected to start in January 2018. The studentship will pay UK/EU* fees (£4,195 for 2017/18 and revised annually) and provide a maintenance stipend linked to the RCUK rate (£14,553 for 2017/18 and revised annually) for up to three years.

*Applications from non-EU students are welcome, but the successful candidate would be responsible for paying the difference between non-EU and UK/EU fees. Fees for 2017/18 are £12,900 for non-EU students.

Ecological responses to hydrological dynamism in temporary river ecosystems

Topic: Effects of small water retention measures on ecosystem functions and ecosystem services in an Austrian river basin

Start: autumn / winter 2017

Application deadline: September 30th 2017

The PhD will be performed in the frame of the 3 year internat. project FRAMWAT within the Central Europe Interreg Program. The aim of the PhD thesis is to analyze the effects of a combination of small water retention measures on ecosystem functions and potential ecosystem service provision based on a model framework and a scenario approach for one specific river basin in Austria. The FRAMWAT framework will be applied including a specific model framework including a SWAT approach.

More info

Application / contact
For questions and applications, please contact Prof. Dr. Thomas Hein, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Inst. For Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management (IHG).

Email: thomas.hein@boku.ac.at
Applicants are requested to submit in one single PDF document:

• a letter of motivation,
• CV and
• contact information of three potential referees

EuroRun was the winner of the 1st EFFS-EFYR collaborative call for research projects led by young researchers.

EuroRun integrates 16 teams from 11 European countries, with a total of 47 young freshwater researchers conducting samplings at 34 stream sites

The project is aimed at estimating CO2 fluxes from European running waters and represents the first coordinated European-wide study to examine fluvial CO2 fluxes. You can now find more information on the project progresses by clicking the link to the project website in this page.

Also, you can download the mid-time report on the project, and the presentation given by Katrin Attermeyer at the 10th SEFS in Olomouc.

The recently started EU Research Infrastructure project AQUACOSM (http://aquacosm.eu) now opens it’s first AQUACOSM Transnational Access Program to fund opportunities to lead or participate in mesocosm experiments at more than 37 aquatic mesocosm facilities located at 18 AQUACOSM partners throughout Europe.

The project and opportunity to fund mesocosm experiments is unique as it is the first time one collaborative international project represent a full cross section of Aquatic Ecosystems ranging from freshwater to estuarine and marine systems, covering the Sub-Arctic to the Mediterranean and beyond, from mountains to lowlands, and spanning from ultra-oligotrophic to hyper-eutrophic conditions. AQUACOSM specifically aims to promote effective international scientific collaboration and technological knowledge transfer across traditional barriers between regions, countries and traditionally separated science disciplines, such a marine and freshwater sciences.

As up to 20% of the funded participants may be from countries outside the European Union and its associated member states – it also represents a truly world-wide opportunity!

Between Jan 2018 and Dec 2020 AQUACOSM will offer more than 11500 person-days of Transnational Access (TA).

This first call opens for proposals for Transnational Access in 2018 with application deadline 15 Sept 2017 before 24:00 CET.

For Further Information, please see http://aquacosm.eu.

PhD position on  Regulation of the organic matter processing / C-turnover in the
land-water interfaces available at Research Station Bad Saarow (near Berlin), Germany

 
BTU will establish a graduate research cluster “Signatures of Disturbed  Landscapes” in October 2017. The cluster comprises 5 projects focussing on coupled abiotic and biotic aspects of aquatic and terrestrial subsystems and their interactions in disturbed landscapes. Processes of carbon turnover are used as an example to investigate the effects of disturbance on element fluxes inside and from the disturbed area.

 
The announced position in subproject “Transformation of Organic Matter” shall investigate the regulation of the turnover of organic matter (OM) in dynamic land-water interfaces. We propose the specific spatio-temporal pattern of water availability and recent OM in disturbed landscapes to cause a special regulation of the OM decomposition and mineralisation in soils and surface waters. Field investigations on processing of labelled litter as well as measurements of respiration rates and CO2 emission along moisture and vegetation gradients in and around ephemeral streams will be conducted. These shall be complemented by experiments in laboratory microcosms and outdoor experimental streams.

 
We are looking for motivated graduate in geosciences, soil science, limnology, ecology, or comparable fields. Interest and commitment in basic research and willingness to work in an interdisciplinary team are essential. Experiences with isotope analysis or biogeochemical methods are beneficial. Applicant need a driving licence, working language is English. PhD shall be achieved as cumulative dissertation based on publications in peer reviewed journals.
The work site is Research Station Bad Saarow, near Berlin, Germany.

 
Successful applicant is expected to start research in October/November 2017 and the grant will be tenable for 36 months. The amount of the grant is 1600 euros per month. The GRS will also offer a child allowance for doctoral candidates with children (200 euro/child/month). Successful candidates will have access to additional funding of the GRS for their doctoral research (e.g. mobility grants etc.). Additional means for material are available.

 
Please send application including CV, certificates and transcripts, letter of motivation. Apply as soon as possible, deadline is 31.07.2017. Please send application as one PDF via e-mail to Prof. M. Mutz (m.mutz@b-tu.de).

 
For further information please don’t hesitate to contact Michael Mutz (m.mutz@b-tu.de).

The EU Cost Action SMIRES (Science and Management of Intermittent Rivers & Ephemeral Streams; http://www.smires.eu) organizes its first Training School (TS): “Biogeochemistry in intermittent streams: techniques and concepts”. The TS will be held in Caldes de Malavella (Girona, Spain) from the 25th to the 29th of September 2017. Deadline for applications is the 15th of July 2017.

More info: http://www.smires.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Flyer-Training-School-SMIRES.pdf

EFYR is proud to announce the best oral and poster student presentations at SEFS10 in Olomouc. Each student was scored by three PhD+ attendants to the conference. The awards were given on Friday 7 July during the closing ceremony.

Best oral presentation:

• Anna Freeman: Zooplankton influence on phytoplankton biomass and community structure in rivers

Subsidiary awards for oral presentations:

• Ariana Chiapella: Partitioning dietary energy sources using compound-specific isotopes: a mesocosm study
• Rosetta Blackman: How much can environmental DNA (eDNA) reflect a local macroinvertebrate community in a lotic system?

Best poster presentation

• Bálint Pernecker: Is the Balkan Goldenring among the losers or winners of climate change? Thoughts on the basis of a six-year long study

Subsidiary awards for poster presentations

• Alena Dostálová: Impacts of drying on the abundance of Gammarus fossarum populations in small streams in Central Europe
• Pierre Chanut: Disentangling the effects of hydrology and predation on macroinvertebrate community assembly: a field experiment

Congratulations!

The 2nd SIL student competition is now open for applications!
The competition is for the best published paper in Limnology appearing as part of a PhD or MSc thesis. The competition will have a national stage, run by the SIL National Representatives, followed by an international stage. The competition winner will be invited to give a plenary talk at the 2018 SIL Congress in Nanjing.

For details, instruction and application form visit the link in this page.

Deadline for submitting applications: 30 September 2017.
If you are not yet a SIL member – we invite you to join the society at (www.limnology.org) so that you too could submit your application.

Judit Padisak, SIL Student Competition Committee Chair
Tamar Zohary, SIL General Secretary-Treasurer

El Centro de Cambio Climático (C3) de la URV y el programa de Ecosistemas Acuáticos del IRTA convocan: 

Una beca predoctoral para la realización de tesis para la obtención del grado de Doctor por la Universidad Rovira i Virgili (URV) 

Referencia de la beca: 2017PMF-PIP-04 

Título: Metabarcoding de diatomeas: desarrollo de nuevas herramientas para el seguimiento ecológico de los ecosistemas acuáticos. 

Breve descripción del proyecto: 

Los ecosistemas acuáticos son esenciales para el funcionamiento planetario y su protección y restauración son de vital importancia. La Directiva Marco del Agua (DMA) tiene por objetivo asegurar el buen funcionamiento de los ecosistemas acuáticos en base a sus comunidades biológicas y de las características químicas e hidrológicas

Las diatomeas son uno de los principales indicadores utilizados para el monitoreo biológico de los ecosistemas de agua dulce, y hasta el presente la utilización de estos indicadores se ha realizado a partir de su caracterización morfológica mediante el microscopio.

Este proyecto de tesis tiene como objetivo desarrollar y validar una nueva técnica para el uso de estos indicadores que permita realizar el seguimiento del estado ecológico de los ríos de forma más rápida y eficaz. Para ello se aplicarán las nuevas tecnologías de secuenciación masiva de ADN (HTS) y el ADN metabarcoding. Esto incluye (1) la comprensión de cómo diversos parámetros metodológicos y biológicos afectan a la relación entre lecturas de ADN (HTS) y el número de células, (2) el desarrollo de una base de datos de referencia de diatomeas ADN para los ríos catalanes, (3) mejora del conocimiento sobre la relación entre la ocurrencia de especies y factores ecológicos en casos particulares (y testar así las hipótesis actuales sobre la ecología de las especies), y (4) el desarrollo de un procesado bioinformático que convierta las lecturas de las secuencias de HTS en evaluación ecológica. Para ello, el candidato/a se encargará del montaje y el uso de conjuntos emparejados de datos de HTS y del recuento de diatomeas al microscopio, y los datos físico-químicos y ambientales de los ríos catalanes. Esta investigación, además de proporcionar una base para un nuevo sistema de vigilancia biológica, proporcionará también conocimiento sobre la biogeografía de las microalgas, respondiendo a cuestiones generales de la dispersión y la diferenciación de las poblaciones microeucariotas.

Duración: 3 años con renovación anual, incorporación previsible a partir de septiembre 2017

Plazo de presentación de solicitudes: del 22 de mayo al 12 de junio de 2017

Perfil del candidato/a:

Preferentemente perfil en Ciencias Biológicas o disciplinas relacionadas. Se dará preferencia a los candidatos con experiencia práctica en técnicas moleculares estándar como la extracción de ADN, la PCR y la secuenciación del ADN. Del mismo modo, también se valorarán muy positivamente tener conocimiento y experiencia con herramientas bioinformáticas para el análisis de datos de secuencias y conocimientos de algas, incluyendo diatomeas. Los solicitantes deben tener un buen nivel de inglés (tanto escrito como hablado). Los/as solicitantes deben tener en cuenta que la investigación se llevará a cabo de forma principal en el centro IRTA de Sant Carles de la Rápita pero se trabajará en estrecha colaboración con otros equipos que abordan proyectos similares, tanto en España como a nivel internacional.

Detalles de la convocatoria: 

http://www.urv.cat/ca/recerca/suport/programes/urv/programa-marti-franques/pipf/2017/

http://www.urv.cat/en/research/support/programmes/urv/programa-marti-franques/pipf/2017/

Titulación requerida y documentación necesaria:

https://www.sgr.urv.cat/cgi-bin/programes/application/detall.cgi?conv=2017PMF-PIPF-&ordre=4&idioma=CAT

https://www.sgr.urv.cat/cgi-bin/programes/application/detall.cgi?conv=2017PMF-PIPF-&ordre=4&idioma=ENG

Además de la documentación listada se deberá adjuntar también una carta de motivación del candidato/a.

Para más información o cualquier duda contactar con: (ver página siguiente)

Javier Sigró (javier.sigro@urv.cat)

Centro de Cambio Climático (C3),

Departamento de Geografia,

Universitat Rovira i Virgili

Avda Catalunya 35

43071 Tarragona, Cataluña, España

o

Rosa Trobajo (rosa.trobajo@irta.cat)

IRTA-Ecosistemas Acuáticos

Ctra Poble Nou Km 5.5

43540 Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Cataluña, España

 at the Institute for Environmental Sciences at the Campus Landau/Pfalz, Germany. The appointment is for 4 years and subject to the German law on fixed-term contracts in science (WissZeitVG). Salary will be according to 100% of the German public service salary scale TV-L 13.

Topic:

The Working Group Quantitative Landscape Ecology investigates the effects of anthropogenic stressors (for example, toxicants, climate change) on river ecosystems, particularly invertebrates, microorganisms and ecosystem processes. The holder of the position should establish an independent research program in the area of statistical and spatial analysis/prediction of the effects of stressors on ecological communities or ecosystems, preferably with connections to the working group. We expect from you a high motivation to publish in high-impact journals and active contribution to research, acquisition of external funding, supervision of Phd students and teaching of GIS (6 SWS). Fostering your academic qualification is part of the professional duties and you will typically acquire the necessary qualifications for a Habilitation (eligibility for a professorship position) through the intended teaching and research activities. As a member of the working group

Quantitative Landscape Ecology and in close collaboration with other research groups of the institute, the successful candidate will have access to modern equipment and work in a young and interdisciplinary team of researchers.

Requirements:

University degree and a PhD on a topic with links to statistical or GIS/spatial analysis. You have an excellent research performance, as evidenced by publications. We expect expertise in multiple of the following areas: GIS, statistics, freshwater ecology, community ecology, ecological theory, ecotoxicology or stress ecology. Experience in the acquisition of third-party funds and in the use of free software (for example, R, PostGIS, QGIS, GRASS GIS) is desired. If you have questions, please contact Prof. Dr. Ralf Schäfer (schaefer-ralf@uni-landau.de ). It is the policy of the University Koblenz-Landau to increase the percentage of female employees. If equally qualified, preference will be given to female applicants. Disabled candidates are given priority, if equally qualified. International candidates are highly encouraged to apply.

Applications should include a letter of motivation, a complete curriculum vitae including an overview of software skills, certificates and a letter of recommendation for the announced position from a referee. Please send your application, quoting the reference number 56/2017 before 19.05.2017  to bewerbung@uni-koblenz-landau.de .

We do not send a confirmation of receipt. In accordance to the protection of data privacy all documents will be destroyed after the application procedure.

The EFFS Board of Representatives is proud to announce the successful applicants for the EFFS Award for the best PhD Dissertation in Freshwater Sciences (2015-2016).

An international jury, composed of five members of the International Representatives of EFFS and EFYR, have evaluated the pre-selected dissertations, which had been transmitted by the National Societies. Three candidates have been selected for the prizes.

Main prize and winner of the EFFS Award for the best PhD Dissertation in Freshwater Sciences – Call 2015-2016:

Dr. Stephanie Nikola MERBT, Germany
Faculty of Biology, Department of Ecology, University of Barcelona, Spain
for the doctoral thesis entitled: Microbial nitrification in urban streams: from single cell activity to ecosystem processes

The two subsidiary prizes go to:

Dr. David Alexander MARQUES, Switzerland
Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, and EAWAG, Switzerland
for the doctoral thesis entitled: Population genomics of adaptive radiation: a threespine stickleback perspective.

and to:

Dr. Simon BELLE, France
Chrono-Environnement laboratory, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
for the doctoral thesis entitled: What can we learn about past methane cycle in lakes using paleolimnological approaches?

More detailed information on the winners can be found here.

The prizes will be surrendered during the 10th Symposium for European Freshwater Sciences (SEFS10) in Olomouc, Czech Republic, July 2nd-7th, 2017 (www.sefs10.cz). The award ceremony will be announced soon in the Conference Programme (http://www.sefs10.cz/daily-programme). The prize winner will give a dedicated plenary lecture.

Additionally, the winning theses will be exhibited during the symposium at the booth of the association of European Fresh and Young Researchers (EFYR).

Congratulations!

RECETOX is currently offering 3 positions of postdoctoral scientists (f/m) in the EU H2020 funded project of Human BioMonitoring for Europe (HBM4EU).

The research topics are:

• Biomonitoring and suspect screening of emerging chemicals in human matrices 

• Pharmacokinetic modeling of organic contaminants in the human body 

• Linking exposures and health by Adverse Outcome Pathways 

We are looking for highly motivated and creative researchers with a keen interest in developing a quantitative and process-based understanding of the factors that govern human exposure to different types of chemicals present in indoor environments, food, drinking water etc. and related effects. Candidates should hold a doctoral degree in the area of natural sciences, preferentially environmental chemistry, ecotoxicology or related fields.

The place of work is Brno, Czech Republic. The initial appointment will be made for two years and can be extended to an overall duration of five years. Earliest start date: March 1st, 2017. Salary will be around 2 000 euro. Applications are accepted until the positions are filled. Please send your complete application documents including a CV, motivation letter and copy of certificates to Veronika Jálová: jalova@recetox.muni.cz

Masaryk University is an equal opportunity employer. Women are encouraged to apply to increase their share in science. Physically handicapped persons will be favoured if they are equally qualified.

Biomonitoring and suspect screening of emerging chemicals in human matrices 

The goal of this project is to provide new data on human exposure of European population to toxic mixtures of chemicals. Samples (blood, urine, and as well as alternative matrices) from the regional population studies (birth cohorts, aging cohorts, cohorts focused on risks and development of cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative diseases) will be assessed. Targeted analytical methods will be combined with suspect screening and non-target approaches to

characterize the complex risks. Data will be further used for pharmacokinetic modeling, assessment of risks and linking exposures to health.

Further Information: Prof. Dr. Jana Klánová, phone: +420-54949-5149 e-mail: klanova@recetox.muni.cz

Pharmacokinetic modeling of organic contaminants in the human body 

The project aims to identify and characterize in a comprehensive manner the various types of chemicals that contribute to the exposure of different population groups to anthropogenic chemicals. Experience and skills required for this project include: mass-balance contaminant fate modeling in the environment and/or pharmacokinetic modeling including model development, understanding of physicochemical properties of organic chemicals and how they determine chemical fate, chemical kinetics, model sensitivity and uncertainty analysis and thinking in scenarios, skills in quantitative data analysis and fitting of models to data.

Further Information: Prof. Dr. Martin Scheringer, phone: +420-54949-6698 and +41-44-632-3062; e-mail: scheringer@recetox.muni.cz

Linking exposures and health by Adverse Outcome Pathways 

This project will fill in the existing gaps and contribute to the development of Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs), i.e. will aim to establish causal links between exposures of humans to organic contaminants (such as emerging priority compounds, flame retardants) with the mechanistic information on their toxicity mechanisms, biomarkers of effect, and ultimately impacts on human health. The project will include both experimental research (mechanistic in vitro toxicology and biomarkers of effects) as well as theoretical synthetic work (development of AOPs by integrating existing information from human cohort studies, literature and databases). The candidate should have understanding and experiences with mode of action MoA toxicology, in vitro and in vivo approaches and/or larger scale studies like human cohorts or population surveys. Candidates should hold a doctoral degree in the area of natural sciences, preferentially environmental health, environmental toxicology and chemistry, biology or related fields.

Further Information: Prof. Dr. Ludek Blaha, phone: +420-54949-3194; e-mail: blaha@recetox.muni.cz

Masaryk University 

The Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment (RECETOX) is a research and educational facility of the Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. Research of the Centre focuses on environmental fate and effects of toxic compounds, ecological and human risk assessment. RECETOX offers excellent research facilities and inspiring international environment.

Faculty of Science 

Kamenice 753/5

625 00 Brno, Czech Republic

www.recetox.muni.cz

Position Title: Assistant Professor of Fish Ecology

General Duties and Responsibilities: The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at Texas A&M University is accepting applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Fish Ecology. We seek an ecologist whose research focuses on inland and/or coastal fishes using a combination of field and laboratory studies to address fundamental and applied questions in ecology, evolutionary biology and/or management. Although all areas of fish ecology will be given full consideration, candidates whose research may be integrated into cross-disciplinary studies are especially encouraged to apply. Such cross-disciplinary studies may include aspects of threatened species conservation, management of wild populations and communities, and aquaculture, including hatchery production for stock enhancement.
The successful candidate is expected to establish an externally funded research program and contribute to the departmental research and teaching missions. Primary teaching responsibilities will include an undergraduate course in fish biology and management, and at least one additional undergraduate or graduate course related to the candidate’s area of expertise.

Qualifications: A PhD in fish biology or other related field and a record of scholarship and grantsmanship commensurate with appointment as Assistant Professor are required. Postdoctoral research experience and a clearly defined research direction are expected.

Appointment: 9 month tenure-track

Closing Date for Applications: January 5, 2017

Date Position is Available: September 1, 2017

Application Process: Submit electronically as a single PDF: CV, statements of research and teaching, and contact information for three references to Dr. Masami Fujiwara, Search Committee Chair, fujiwara@exchange.tamu.edu.

More info here

Within the research project ‘Trophic pathways of omega-3 fatty acids in stream food webs’, funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), we are looking for a highly motivated student with expertise in aquatic food webs ecology to pursue her/his PhD studies at the University of Vienna, conducted at the Inter-university research center for Aquatic Ecosystems Research ‘WasserCluster Lunz’, Austria.

The well-established River Continuum Concept suggests headwater streams in temperate forests being strongly dominated by terrestrial organic matter (t-OM). At the same time, these streams are typical habitats for freshwater salmonids, such as trout and charr, which are rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA). However, n-3 PUFA required for salmonids are very limited in t-OM. Thus, the high dietary omega-3 PUFA supply for salmonids and other headwater consumers, such as benthic invertebrates, may be too low. This research project targets this conundrum and will investigate, a) spatial and seasonal variation in consumer dependence (benthic invertebrates and fish) on elemental (C and N and their stable isotopes) and molecular (lipids and their fatty acids) composition of basal resources along a longitudinal, pre-alpine stream gradient (ecosystem approach), b) under different light conditions, the effect of allochthonous and autochthonous diet sources in headwater streams on dietary supply and retention of fatty acids in headwater benthic invertebrates (experimental approach), and, c) using radioactive hepatocyte bioassays, the ability of freshwater fish to convert precursor fatty acids to DHA to compensate for a lack of dietary DHA (hepatic lipid metabolism in freshwater fish). This research will use state-of-the-art methods, including flume experiments and fish hepatocytes bioassays, linked with field investigations and apply stable isotopes and fatty acids. Results will shed considerable light on the long-standing question of how consumers in headwater streams, but also in lowland streams, manage or fail to obtain essential nutrients and high quality forms of energy. Together with an international team of high-profile researchers (Tom Battin; Stuart Bunn; Brian Fry; and Michael Brett), this research project will be coordinated and lead by the PI (Martin Kainz), provide excellent training for students involved and considerably contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of trophic energy transfer and lipid dynamics in stream organisms along increasing trophic levels.

WasserCluster Lunz is a highly interactive inter-university research center for Aquatic Ecosystems Research at Lake Lunz (145 km from Vienna) with a steadily growing number of international PhD students as well as post-doctoral fellows. Students interested in this PhD-position are encouraged to contact Dr. Martin Kainz (martin.kainz@univie.ac.at) and provide a letter of interest, their CV including publications, and names of two references.

The Faculty 7: Natural and Environmental Sciences at the Campus Landau/Pfalz invites applications for a Junior Professorship (W1) in Functional Aquatic Ecotoxicology with Tenure-Track option

Tasks: The candidate is acknowledged as an expert in functional aquatic ecotoxicology in teaching and research. Research focus is the mechanistic study of changes in aquatic ecosystems through chemical stress, especially with regard to ecological interactions and ecosystem processes. The candidate is experienced in the study of effect mechanisms of emerging pollutants, ideally of nanomaterials and organic micro-pollutants, and in using ecotoxicological test systems of different levels of complexity, including physiological, isotope-based or molecular biological methods. Intensive cooperation in the research area ‘Ecosystems and Anthropogenic Stressors in the landwater transition zone’ is expected. The candidate should teach basic and advanced courses in english and german in the Environmental Sciences and Teaching (biology) study programs. The initial teaching load is 4 hours per week.

Requirements: University degree and a PhD in Environmental Science, Ecotoxicology or related subject area. Proof of aptitude for teaching. Aptitude for research is typically proven by a high quality Phd thesis. International recognition, as evidenced by publications in highly ranked international journals is expected. Experience in the acquisition of third-party funds and in leading research projects is desired. If you have questions, please contact Prof. Dr. Ralf Schäfer ( schaefer-ralf@uni-landau.de). It is the policy of the University Koblenz-Landau to increase the percentage of female employees. If equally qualified, preference will be given to female applicants. Disabled candidates are given priority, if equally qualified. Junior-Professors are employed as temporary civil servants for 3 three years. A prolongation for three years is possible pending positive mid-term evaluation. After the 6 year period as JuniorProfessor, permanent employment as Professor (W2) is possible, as evaluated during a tenure track proceeding. The state of Rhineland Palatinate and the University of Koblenz Landau follow a concept of intensive supervision of students and a high presence of teaching staff is expected on campus. Note that only the german advertisement is formally relevant and this contains additional information on the legal situation of employment, though constraints mainly apply to scientists that have been employed in Germany before. The german advertisement can be accessed here: https://www.stellenwerk-koblenz-landau.de/sites/default/files/pdf/university/124-2016.pdf

Applicants send their application documents (CV, certificates etc.) and the completed application form (goo.gl/vVD4XY) until the 20.11.2016 quoting the reference number 124/2016 to the President of the University of Koblenz Landau, Präsidialamt, Rhabanusstr. 3, 55118 Mainz.

Dear young and fresh scientists,

The Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management in the College of Natural Resources at the University of California, Berkeley invites applications for a tenure-track position at the assistant professor level in Freshwater Ecology and Conservation with an expected start date of July 1, 2017. For more information about the position, including required qualifications and application materials, go to https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/apply/JPF01139

The deadline to apply is October 14, 2016. For questions, please contact the Search Administrator at espm_recruit@berkeley.edu. UC Berkeley is an AA/EEO employer.

Postdoc position (100%) at the Institute for Environmental Sciences at the Campus Landau/Pfalz, Germany. The appointment is for 4 years and subject to the German law on fixed-term contracts in science (WissZeitVG). Salary will be according to 100% of the German public service salary scale TV-L 13.

Topic:

The Working Group Quantitative Landscape Ecology investigates the effects of anthropogenic stressors (for example, toxicants, climate change) on river ecosystems, particularly invertebrates, microorganisms and ecosystem processes. We expect from you a high motivation and active contribution to research, acquisition of external funding, supervision of Phd students and teaching (6 SWS). The establishment of an independent research program linking current ecological or macroecological theories (for example, MTE, Metacommunity theory, Maximum Entropy) with (multiple) stressors, preferably in the focus of the working group, is strongly supported. Fostering your academic qualification is part of the professional duties and you will typically acquire the necessary qualifications for a Habilitation through the intended teaching and research activities. As a member of the working group Quantitative Landscape Ecology and in close collaboration with other research groups of the institute, the successful candidate will have access to modern equipment and work in a young and interdisciplinary team of researchers.

Requirements:

University degree and a PhD in an area adjacent to the main topics of the working group. You have an excellent research performance, as evidenced by publications, and you have expertise in one or all of the following areas: ecology of one organism group occurring in streams, preferably invertebrates or fungi, ecosystem processes (e.g. organic matter breakdown), Trait-based methods, ecotoxicology, GIS, statistics and dynamic modeling. Experience in the acquisition of third-party funds and in the use of free software (for example, R, PostgreSQL, GRASS GIS, Python) is desired.

If you have questions, please contact Prof. Dr. Ralf Schäfer (schaefer-ralf@uni-landau.de). It is the policy of the University Koblenz-Landau to increase the percentage of female employees. If equally qualified, preference will be given to female applicants. Disabled candidates are given priority, if equally qualified. International candidates are highly encouraged to apply.

Applications should include a letter of motivation, a complete curriculum vitae including an overview of software skills, certificates and a letter of recommendation for the announced position from a referee. Please send your application, quoting the  reference number 108/2016 before 30.09.2016 to  bewerbung@uni-koblenz-landau.de. We do not send a confirmation of receipt. In accordance to the protection of data privacy all documents will be destroyed after the application procedure.

www.uni-ko-ld.de/karriere

River Ecohydrology and spatiotemporal modelling
(to be announced shortly at www.irstea.fr, interviews likely in October)

“The researcher will develop models relating metapopulations/metacommunities
(invertebrates, fish or other groups) to their physical environment
(hydrology, hydraulics, temperature, substrate, flow intermittency)
and to connectivity characteristics and alterations”
Contact us for details

nicolas.lamouroux@irstea.fr

Are you a young and motivated scientist working on ecological questions in freshwaters?Would you like to meet other young and motivated freshwater scientists from all over Europe and extend your network? Are you eager to learn more about carbon fluxes and greenhouse gas emissions from streams? Do you like to be outside in the nature and conduct fieldwork and do not flinch from performing night sampling? Do you have time between September 2016 until June 2017 for a workshop attendance and four sampling campaigns with 2-4 days in the field in each season? Then, do not hesitate and register for EuroRun!

Running waters are major CO₂ emitters; however, the magnitude and mechanisms of these fluxes are still not adequately quantified and/or understood. The focus of EuroRun lays on estimating CO₂ fluxes from European running waters with a team of early career scientists and represents the first coordinated European-wide study to examine fluvial CO₂ fluxes. The equipment to measure gas fluxes will be provided and the handling will be taught during a workshop, thus no experiences in gas flux measurements are necessary. The measurements will be performed four times in the period from September 2016 to June 2017. In each fieldcampaign CO₂ emissions of one to five streams per team will be measured at daytime and nighttime. For further information, please visit our homepage http://freshproject-eurorun.jimdo.com/eurorun/project-eurorun/.

If you are interested, please carefully check the requirements below for being a EuroRun participant and complete the questionnaire. The purpose of the questionnaire is to get to know you better, to validate appropriate candidates for EuroRun (our funding allows to supporting ~20 teams), and to gather some basic information for the project. We will of course keep your data confidential. Please complete the questionnaire and send it simultaneously to katrin.attermeyer@ebc.uu.se and bodmer@igb-berlin.de, by 31st May 2016.

Requirements to participate in the EuroRun project:

• Be a PhD student or postdoc (having defended your PhD thesis after 31^st December 2012)
• A team of at least two and up to maximum five people (one Team representative and at least one more team member)
• Access to at least one perennial stream where drifting with a floating flux chamber is possible (see requirements for stream sites below)
• Access to basic limnological equipment (pH sensor, temperature sensor, conductivity sensor, waders)
• Be motivated to perform fieldwork in the darkness (one measurement campaign at daytime and one at nighttime for about 2 hours)
• Be available between September 2016 to June 2017 in order to perform measurements in four seasons: at fixed time periods, including during the night
• Access to field site(s) (including car or other transportation if necessary, allowance to access field site(s) and perform measurements or take samples) and insurance for fieldwork
• For one team representative: participate at the EuroRun workshop taking place at Lake Erken (Sweden) from the 13^th -16^th of September (http://www.ieg.uu.se/erken-laboratory/)

We plan to publish the results in an international peer-reviewed journal at the end of the project and every participant that provided data for all four sampling campaigns will be a co-author on the paper!

Selection criteria for field sites:

• Stream orders 1 to 5
• Perennial streams (= never dry)
• The discharge should range between 100 L/s and 2000 L/s
• Stream should flow primarily through a forest or agricultural fields/grasslands and measurements in cities (urban) should be avoided
• A safe working should be possible: not too fast flowing, possible to wade through (wearing waders)

Some pictures from appropriate streams and more information are available on our homepage: http://freshproject-eurorun.jimdo.com/

You can find the questionnaire here: EuroRun questionnaire.

In case of questions please do not hesitate to contact us via email! (simultaneously to katrin.attermeyer@ebc.uu.se and bodmer@igb-berlin.de)

On behalf of the J-AIL members of the 2016’ AIL local committee (Tortosa) we invite you to participate in the following two workshops which will be held in sunday 3 July. Each workshop, presenter and schedule are listed below. Description of each workshop is attached in this email:

1. Introduction to meta-analysis in ecology – Dr. Veronica Ferreira (University of Coimbra – Portugal)
Date: Sunday, 3 July 2016. Time: 10-16.30h.
Location: Congress venue at Campus URV (room the be confirmed)
Symbolic fee: 15 euros (lunch included in the fee)

2. After PhD: What next? – Various top-class young researchers
Date: Sunday, 3 July 2016. Time 16.30-18.30h
Location: Congress venue at Campus URV (room to be confirmed)
Symbolic fee: 10 euros

If you are interested in participating one or two workshops, or asking us for further information, please email to ana.genua@irta.cat, nuria.vila@irta.cat and xavier.benito@irta.cat

We need to everyone interested in to register as soon as posible so that we can estimate the attendance. Also, please let us know if you have some special food requirements for the sunday’ lunch.

We look forward to seeing all in Tortosa this summer!

XVIII Conference of the Iberian Association of Limnology workshops
3 Sunday July (Tortosa)
http://www.limnologia2016.org/es/jovenes-ail/cursos.html

Best regards,

Ana Genua
Nuria Vila
Xavier Benito

J-AIL Tortosa committee

As you might know, the EuroRun project won the 1st EFYR call for research projects led by young researchers. The project is aimed at estimating CO2 fluxes from European running waters and represents the first coordinated European-wide study to examine fluvial CO2 fluxes. You can now find more information on the project here:

http://freshproject-eurorun.jimdo.com/

Also, you can read the full project proposal here.

Start thinking about what you could add to this project…soon we will launch an announcement and a short questionnaire to attract more participants to complement the team!

The SIL Nominating Committee is seeking (self-)nominations for a student/early career member of the SIL Executive board, to serve for a period of 2 years (with an option to be re-elected for a second term), and to be elected before the next congress in Turin (2016). Candidates must be SIL members (or have applied to join SIL), holding a PhD studentship, or a post-doctoral or similar position, and have been born in 1981 or later.

Candidates should submit a photograph and a paragraph about him/herself, stating what s/he would like to do for the younger generation of limnologists if elected to the SIL board (one page max, plus the photograph). On this basis, the SIL Nominating Committee will select candidates to be put up for an election by the SIL membership. Members of the SIL Nominating Committee are: Luigi Naselli-Flores (Chair), Carolyn Burns, Paul del Giorgio, Alan Hildrew and Tamar Zohary. Applications should be submitted to the Chair (luigi.naselli@unipa.it) no later than 15 May 2016. Elections will be held electronically (by e-mail) at the beginning of June.

THE ROLE OF SMALL AQUATIC SYSTEMS IN CARBON SEQUESTRATION – Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne

Summary

Small lakes and ponds are often omitted from global carbon budgets yet recent evidence has shown they represent a disproportionately active component of the freshwater carbon cycle that combined with their overall extent means they are likely to play a significant global role in the sequestration of organic carbon.

The project will continue our group’s work on characterising carbon mass balances from such systems, including CO2 fluxes and organic carbon burial rates. We are particularly interested in how such processes respond to climatic variations, extreme weather events productivity and pond successional stage. We are keen to estimate the potential role of small aquatic systems in providing a buffering effect during periods of sustained climatic change; specifically, how in wetter periods, their greater overall extent might lead to increased carbon sequestration, and potential increases in emissions during drought.

The main study area will be a group of natural and constructed ponds in Northumberland, UK, though it is likely that the approaches developed during the project will be extended to natural and constructed wetland sites in other parts of the UK and also to some European sites. A major part of the work will involve the development of a technique to estimate carbon burial rates in ponds at a fine temporal resolution, utilising pollen signals from nearby arable rotations to date sediment strata. Carbon dioxide fluxes will be measured using floating chambers and an infra-red analyser, allowing uptake and evasion to be estimated for a wide range of climatic conditions, including during drying and rewetting phases. The data will be used to refine our understanding of overall fluxes from small aquatic systems and, in combination with GIS data, used to model the overall sequestration rates on regional scales and how this might change during different climatic conditions.

More information here.

The call for the 1st Collaborative European Freshwater Science Project for Young Researchers, (“FreshProject”) was quite successful and five proposals were submitted to evaluation. All the proposals but one had 2 Principal Investigators from different countries and this gives a good indication about the capacity of international cooperation of European young researchers. A Jury composed by five members among the National Representatives in the Board of the EFFS completed the hard work to assess the proposals. All these were of high scientific value and fulfilled the criteria set in the call. However, one project was unanimously scored as outstanding and selected.

We have thus the pleasure to announce that the competitive call for the 1st Collaborative European Freshwater Science Project for Young Researchers, (“FreshProject”) has now reached the end of the first stage and the winner are:

Katrin Attermeyer (member of DGL) and Pascal Bodmer (member of SGHL).

The title of the selected project is:
Assessing CO2 Fluxes from European Running Waters – EuroRun

Katrin Attermeyer got her PhD at the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Neuglobsow, Germany with a doctoral thesis in Aquatic Microbiology under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Grossart. She has currently a postdoc position at the Uppsala University, Dept. of Ecology & Genetics, Limnology, in the group of Prof. Dr. Lars Tranvik (DFG research fellowship)

Pascal Bodmer is a PhD student at the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Berlin, Germany with a doctoral thesis in Aquatic Biogeochemistry under the supervision of Dr. Katrin Premke (IGB Berlin, Germany), Prof. Alberto Bellin (University of Trento, Italy), PD Dr. Martin Pusch (IGB Berlin, Germany).

The abstract of the project can be downloaded by clicking here.

As requested in the call, the first results of the granted project will be presented at the next SEFS meeting, which will be held in 2017 in Olomouc (Czech Republic).

Last but not least, we wish to thank all the young researchers who entered the competition and submitted their proposals.

Congratulations to the winners of our call and best wishes for successfully completing their project!!!

1. The European Federation for Freshwater Sciences (EFFS) launches a new call of the EFFS Award for the best PhD Dissertation in Freshwater Sciences, which will recognize outstanding scientific and intellectual work in the field of Freshwater Sciences performed by Early Career Researchers in Europe.

2. Applicants for this Award will include all authors of doctoral theses submitted in Europe in the field of Freshwater Sciences. Applicants should be members of an Association related to Freshwater Sciences and affiliated to the European Federation for Freshwater Sciences (EFFS). The PhD dissertation can be written in any European language.

3. Applicants should submit their application form to their reference Association. PhD dissertations MUST be accompanied by an extended abstract in English (max 5 printed pages single spaced, and containing a maximum of 4 figures). The extended abstract have to be signed by the supervisor(s) along with the list of publication related to the PhD work. Theses submitted without these documents will be not considered for further evaluation.

4. Federated Associations will perform a pre-selection according to common rules and time schedule for selection, and using evaluation criteria similar to those for Marie Curie fellowship proposals. E.g. PhD dissertation will be evaluated according to their scientific/technological quality (score 0-20), originality (0-20), methodological approach (0-20), relevance and potential scientific impact of the work carried out (0-20).

5. For this call, the PhD thesis must have been defended during the years 2015-2016.

6. Each Association can submit two selected PhD dissertations for the final evaluation by the end of January 2017. This number is increased proportionally for those Associations collecting members from more than one European country (e.g. AIL collects both Spanish and Portuguese members and the number of dissertations can be 4). In any case, no more than four dissertations can be presented by each association.

7. The final evaluation will be carried out by an international Jury by the end of February 2017. Members of the Jury are identified among the members of the Board of Representatives at EFFS. The evaluation criteria are based on the evaluation reports submitted by national associations, and by the attribution of the scores specified in point 4 (above) to the extended abstract in English (point 3).

8. The Award will consider one main and two subsidiary prizes. The main prize will consist of a Diploma and a grant to attend the next Symposium for European Freshwater Sciences (SEFS), including registration fee, travel and lodging. During this meeting, the winning author will be required to give a dedicated Plenary Lecture on his/her PhD dissertation topic. – The winners of the subsidiary prizes will receive a Diploma and a grant covering the registration fee to attend the next Symposium for European Freshwater Sciences (SEFS).

9. Recipients of the Awards will be informed at least three months before the opening day of SEFS.

10. An awards ceremony will take place just before the dedicated Plenary Lecture. In addition to the Plenary Lecture – given by the main prize winner – the three winning theses will be exhibited during the next SEFS meeting in a section of the venue dedicated to the association of European Fresh and Young Researchers (EFYR). The exhibition will include at least one hard copy of the theses (we will also encourage the distribution of e-copies) and a poster explaining the contents of each winning thesis. Hard copies, electronic copies (if any), and posters must be provided by the authors themselves.

For further details, please contact your National Association. A list of federated associations is available at http://www.freshwatersciences.eu/effs/index.asp?page=MEMBERS&Id=6

A pdf copy of this information can be found here.

We invite proposals for a project to be supported by the European Federation of Freshwater Sciences (EFFS). The call has been developed as a joint effort of the EFFS board, the European Fresh and Young Researchers (EFYR) and representatives of the Fresh Blood for Fresh Water (FBFW) meetings, based on a previous call from the Jóvenes‐AIL (J‐AIL) of the Iberian Limnological Society. It has the primary goals of encouraging young freshwater researchers across Europe to create synergistic interactions that lead to new knowledge, promote networking among young European Limnologists and offer experience in generating research ideas, acquiring funding, planning and carrying out a collaborative international scientific project.

Collaboration among scientists over a wide geographical area offers the possibility to plan innovative experiments with a relatively small budget. Such collaborative projects have the potential for combining outstanding research with networking, and thus can be very valuable for scientists at an early stage in their careers. As an example, a project such as this initiated by the AIL, developed into a programme involving 42 young scientists performing measurements in 11 rivers in Germany, Spain and Switzerland. Proposals submitted to the present call should specify original research on any aspect of the ecology of inland waters. We are seeking to support research relying on the original and well-designed use of inexpensive and simple methodology, and will favour multidisciplinary interactions among young researchers from several European countries. This is an `equal opportunity call’ which is open to all young members of the limnological societies constituting EFFS. National societies from Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain/Portugal, Switzerland and United Kingdom financially support this programme and kindly encourage the participation of their young members.

Please download the call from this link.

For more information you can contact:

Luigi Naselli-Flores: luigi.naselli@unipa.it

Núria Cid: ncid@ub.edu

Miguel Cañedo-Argüelles: mcanedo.fem@gmail.com

We would like to draw your attention to a PhD opportunity at Loughborough University, in conjunction with the British Geological Survey.

Tropical lake ecosystems in the Anthropocene: quantifying recent human impacts on biogeochemical cycling and biodiversity

Tropical freshwater lakes are critical natural systems of global importance, yet are scientifically under researched. Their catchments provide vital ecosystem services to some of Earth’s fastest growing and most vulnerable human populations, but the provision of fundamental ecological and life-supporting services is under threat due to the impact of human activities acting at the landscape-scale in the current Anthropocene. This PhD project combines limnology and palaeolimnology, using high-resolution lake monitoring, sediment trapping and sediment coring of a suite of contrasting crater lakes in western Uganda to characterise primary productivity and nutrient cycling (e.g. C and Si flux and burial) from seasonal to decadal scales. As well as records of biogeochemical dynamics, sediment archives will also be analysed for signals of ecological change, which will enable the PhD project to link changes in lake functioning as hotspots of both biogeochemistry and biodiversity in the last ~100-150 years.

For more detailed information about the project, to find out more about Loughborough University and the CENTA DTP as well as details regarding the application procedure, please use the following link:

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/services/graduateschool/prospective-phd-students/fees-and-funding/university-and-external/nerc-centa/2016-centa-project-ryves-uganda/

You are also welcome to contact Dave Ryves (d.b.ryves@lboro.ac.uk) and/or Keely Mills (kmil@bgs.ac.uk) to find out more.

We would be extremely grateful if you could forward this email to your students and colleagues who may be interested.

Ecosystemic consequences of zooplankton diel vertical migrations on the transport of nutrients and pollutants in lakes

Aim of the project: The objective of this research project is to understand the consequences of zooplankton diel vertical migrations (DVM) on the productivity and the quality of water in boreal oligotrophic lakes. More precisely, this project aims at better understanding the functional coupling between the hypo- and epilimnetic habitats due to DVM in terms of transport of nutrients and pollutants across these two habitats.

DVM are among the most important migration phenomena at a global level, with huge potential consequences for ecosystem functioning. By migrating across layers with different resources, the zooplankton has the potential to couple habitats on the vertical axis, as it has been clearly shown in the ocean. Marine zooplankton DVM, for example, constitute a sort of “biological pump” able to increase the sink of carbon in the oceans, thus contributing to control CO2 in the atmosphere. The consequences of DVM for lakes are still poorly studied, mainly in terms of nutrient recycling and speciation of contaminants. Our aim is thus to fill this gap by analysing the consequences for the ecosystems of such migrations both in terms of biogeochemical cycles in lakes and of contaminant accumulation within the food web.

Dear all,

our friends of the Freshwater Biological Association of the UK have included a brief description of EFYR in page 18 of their 66th newsletter.

You can subscribe to the newsletter here: http://www.fba.org.uk/latest-issue-fba-news-out-now-5

We thank the Freshwater Biological Association for this opportunity!

DATES AND PLACE: 16-19 November 2015 at the IRTA centre of Sant Carles de la Ràpita Ctra. Poble Nou km 5.5 E- 43540 Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain Coord. GPS +40° 37′ 39.95″, +0° 39′ 34.75″ www.irta.es

INSTRUCTOR: Professor Sven E. Jørgensen is an ecologist and chemist, and Professor Emeritus on environmental chemistry at the University of Copenhagen. He is one of the founders of modern ecological modelling and has authored more than 300 scientific articles and wroe or edited more than 55 books, monographs and compilation of articles.

TEXTBOOK: Introduction to Systems Ecology (Applied Ecology and Environmental Management). Included in the registration fee. One book will be delivered to each attendant.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: The course will present the up-to-date, consistent ecosystem theory, that is increasingly applied as the theoretical basis in ecological modeling, ecological engineering, as well as the application of ecological indicators, ecological informatics and calculations of ecological services. System ecology is today a prerequisite for the wide use of these sub-disciplines in ecological and environmental management. . This course will provide students with a grounding in systems ecology theory and a profound understanding of both qualitative and quantitative applications of ecological considerations in environmental management. With a good knowledge to system ecology it is possible to predict of course not yet all, but many ecosystem reactions to changed impacts. Knowledge to ecological modeling and the use of the software STELLA are an advantage, but not required. Students are encouraged to bring their own data (field, lab or bibliographical) to use and calibrate the models. The language of the course will be English. It is assumed students will bring their own computers. Group Presentation: Each student will be partnered up with three-four other students to form a group. Each group will have to deliver a 30min presentation on their selected topic. Each student is expected to take an equal turn presenting material. Presentations will be delivered at the end (Day Four) of the course.

Daily Schedule: Monday 16th November 9:15-11.15 The basic thermodynamic laws applied on ecosystems, Chapters 1-3 11.15-11.45 Coffee break 11:14-13.15 Growth and Development of Ecosystems, Chapter 4 13.15-14:30 Lunch 14:30-16.00 Presentation of STELLA 16:00-16:45 Coffee break and formation of the groups for the group works. Selection of the group work 16:45-17:30 Presentation of the groups and their group work selection Tuesday 17th November 9.15-11.15 Biochemistry of ecosystems, Chapter 5 and Ecosystem Growth, Chapter 6 11.15-11.45 Coffee break 11.45-13.15 The Ecological Law of Thermodynamics, Chapter 7 13.15-14:30 Lunch 14.30 -16.00 Ecosystems are open systems, Chapter 8 16.00-18.00 Coffee break and group work Wednesday 18th November 9:15-11.15 Hierarchy Theory and Ecosystem Diversity, Chapters 9-10 11.15-11.45 Coffee break 11.45-13.15 Ecosystems have high buffer capacity, resistance and resilience, Chapter 11 and Network Theory, Chapter 12 13.15-14.30 Lunch 14.30-18.00 Group work Thursday 19th November 9:00-11.15 Chapters 13-15 Ecosystem Information and emergent properties, Application of systems ecology in environmental management, ecological engineering and for the assessment of ecosystem health and ecosystem services. 11.15-11.45 Coffee break 11.45-13:15 Group Work 13:15-14:30 Lunch 15.30-16.00 Coffee break 16.0018.00 Presentation of Group work 18:00 Course wrap-up 3

REGISTRATION Maximum number of participants: 25 Registration fees: 195 euros for members of AIL (Asociación Ibérica de Limnología) 295 euros for non-members Registration fee includes attendance of the course, the software use during the course, the book “Introduction to Systems Ecology”, as well as lunches and coffee breaks. Accommodation is not included. Registration procedure: A number of places will reserved for members of AIL. If you want to attend please fill in the application (pre-registration) form and send it to Maria Jesús Belvis (mjesus.belvis@irta.cat) before 23th of October 2015, indicating as subject of email ‘preregistration-courseSE’. You will receive a confirmation of the receipt of your pre-registration form and (provided places are available) confirmation of acceptance, after which you can quickly proceed with the payment of the registration for ensuring registration. The provisional admissions will be in strict order of receipt of application. With the acceptance message from the organization, the bank details for making the payment will be also sent to you. Payment of the registration should be completed by 26th of October and a scanned copy of the bank transfer sent to us (mjesus.belvis@irta.cat) with email subject ‘receipt-banktransfer-courseSE’. After we have received it, we will confirm your registration by email. Without payment the registration cannot be confirmed. Final admissions will be in strict order of receipt of payment until the maximum number of participants has been completed. If you fail to attend the course after making the payment we cannot guarantee the return of the fees unless your place can be taken by another student. TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS We will send directions about how to get to IRTA centre for those travelling by car. For those arriving by train, the nearest station is ‘L’Aldea-Amposta-Tortosa’. From here you can reach the town of Sant Carles de la Ràpita by HIFE bus http://www.hife.es/es-ES [origen: ALDEA,L'(E.FFCC:CN]. Alternatively, you can get a taxi 689 505798, although this is much more expensive (ca 25 €). We will organize transport between Sant Carles de la Ràpita and IRTA centre (5.5km)

More information:

Course System Ecology AIL-IRTA_announcement Preregistration_form_Systems_Ecology_course

Preregistration_form_Systems_Ecology_course

Public lecture Wednesday, July 8, 2015 | 7:00 pm

We live on a blue planet. Yet freshwater makes up only 3% of all water on earth, 2% of which is locked up in snow and ice, leaving just 1% for all of us to use. The availability of clean freshwater is vital for life, humans and nature alike. However, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that by 2025 two out of three people will live in water stressed areas. Water is identified as one of the three most important challenges worldwide and this year, for the first time, the World Economic Forum (WEF) moved it to the top, considering it as the biggest societal and economic risk for the next ten years.

From 5 to 10 July, the University of Geneva is hosting the 9th Symposium for European Freshwater Sciences under the title “Freshwater sciences coming home”, this domain having been founded over 100 years ago in the Lake Geneva area. The symposium will gather over 500 researchers, professionals and stakeholders from universities, research laboratories, private institutions, as well as national and regional administrations from around 50 countries from Europe and other continents. Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman of the “2030 Water Resources Group”, a Public Private Partnership, and of the Board of Nestlé S.A., is invited to give a public lecture in this context. Given the uncertainty about the availability of freshwater in the future, it is more crucial than ever to bring scientists, government, businesses and society together on the water issue in order to share a vision on how we can face these challenges and promote sustainable water use in the future.

More information here

The EFFS Board of Representatives is proud to announce the successful applicants for the first EFFS Award for the best PhD Dissertation in Freshwater Sciences (2013-2014). An international jury, composed of five members of the International Representatives of EFFS, have evaluated the pre-selected dissertations, which had been transmitted by the National Societies. Three candidates have been selected for the prizes.

Main prize and winner of the EFFS Award for the best PhD Dissertation in Freshwater Sciences:

Dr. Xu ZHONG
French National Institute for Agronomic Research (INRA), UMR CARRTEL, Thonon-les-Bains, France
for the doctoral thesis entitled
“Freshwater dsDNA viral diversity: A special emphasis on viruses infecting phytoplankton (cyanophages and phycodnaviruses) and T4-like myophages in peri-alpine lakes”

The two subsidiary prizes go to:

Dr. Paula ARRIBAS
Department of Ecology and Hydrology – University of Murcia, Spain.
for the doctoral thesis entitled
“Evolutionary ecology, biogeography and conservation of water beetles in Mediterranean saline ecosystems”

and to:

Dr. Arunava PRADHAN
University of Minho, Portugal
for the doctoral thesis entitled
“Impacts of nanoparticles to microbes and invertebrates: from community responses to cellular targets”

The prizes will be surrendered during the 9th Symposium for European Freshwater Sciences (SEFS9) in Geneva (www.sefs9.ch). The award ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, July 9, 2015. Subsequently, the prize winner will give a dedicated plenary lecture.

Additionally, the winning theses will be exhibited during the symposium at the booth of the association of European Fresh and Young Researchers (EFYR).

Congratulations !

The European Fresh and Young Researchers (EFYR) of the European Federation for Freshwater Sciences (EFFS) invite all SEFS 9 attendants with musical aptitudes to get together during the conference (July 5-10 2015, Geneva).

The idea is that students, postdocs and seniors perform together popular songs related to rivers and lakes (e.g. the River by Bruce Springsteen, Down by the River by Neil Young). We believe that music is one of the best ways of communication and could enhance good scientific interactions between freshwater scientists of all ages. This is not a professional activity. If you do not play since a long time ago, this can be a good opportunity to tune yourself and have fun with your colleagues.

If you want to have an idea about how it might look like, take a look at this astonishing video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw7DfFVga5Y&feature=em-subscription-upload

What do we need from you? Let us know which instrument do you play and which musical style. We welcome you to provide us with song suggestions. Then we will create a mailing list and agree on a repertoire. We also need to know if you will be able to bring your instrument to the SEFS 9.

If interested, please contact representatives of EFYR Miguel Cañedo (mcanedo.fem@gmail.com) and Núria Cid (ncid@ub.edu).

Thanks!!

The “International Summer Academy on Spatial Ecotoxicology and Ecotoxicological Risk Assessment- Using an Open Community Approach” will be hosted from September 7 to September 20, 2015 at University Koblenz-Landau, Campus Landau, Germany. Further details and registration are available on our website: www.summeracademy-landau.de

Developing countries are particularly affected with high contamination, but often have inadequate control mechanisms and insufficient resources for risk assessment. Spatial analysis offers more and more applications and potential within ecological risk assessment. Our ‘International Summer Academy on Spatial Ecotoxicology and Ecotoxicological Risk Assessment’ gives an overview of ecotoxicological risk assessment with a focus on the use of freely available methods and resources for remote sensing and spatial analysis using GIS. The course provides young scientists with inexpensive tools that are oriented for use in both developing and developed countries.

Topics:

- Problem formulation – Hazard assessment of chemical stressors – Characterization of effects on One Health – Pesticide pollution and vulnerability concepts – Earth-to-space-based observing systems for environmental risk assessment and disaster management – Use of Open Source spatial analysis tool – Open community approach in One Health risk mapping – Creation of global pesticide application maps – Risk assessment and data availability in developing countries.

The Summer Academy is funded by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) with financial support from the Federal Foreign Office. We are looking forward to welcome you to Landau next summer! And if you know someone who might be interested in a master’s degree in this field, please feel free to forward the link to our two master’s programs taught in English – the M.Sc. in Ecotoxicology and the M.Sc. in Environmental Sciences: www.uni-landau.de/international-masters

Best regards, the Organizing Team University Koblenz-Landau Institute for Environmental Sciences

sommerakademie@uni-landau.de

www.summeracademy-landau.de

The European Fresh and Young Researchers (EFYR) of the European Federation for Freshwater Sciences (EFFS) invite all SEFS 9 attendants with musical aptitudes to get together during the conference (July 5-10 2015, Geneva).

The idea is that students, postdocs and seniors perform together popular songs related to rivers and lakes (e.g. the River by Bruce Springsteen, Down by the River by Neil Young). We believe that music is one of the best ways of communication and could enhance good scientific interactions between freshwater scientists of all ages. This is not a professional activity. If you do not play since a long time ago, this can be a good opportunity to tune yourself and have fun with your colleagues.

What do we need from you? Let us know which instrument do you play and which musical style. We welcome you to provide us with song suggestions. Then we will create a mailing list and agree on a repertoire. We also need to know if you will be able to bring your instrument to the SEFS 9.

If interested, please contact representatives of EFYR Miguel Cañedo (mcanedo.fem@gmail.com) and Núria Cid (ncid@ub.edu).

Post-doctoral Fellow: Cumulative effects across spatial scales in freshwater ecosystems

University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Closing date for applications: 7th December 2014
Start date: ASAP or by 1st January 2015 if possible

We are seeking a Post-Doctoral Fellow for a collaborative project between University of British Columbia, Trent University and University of Ottawa, examining cumulative effects within and across spatial scales for small streams and larger catchment networks. The effects of interest include all possible responses to land-use changes, such as hydrology, chemistry, geomorphology and biology.
The ideal candidate will have excellent quantitative skills in spatial statistics and modelling, and expertise with flowing-water ecosystems, especially their biology or hydrology. Ability to program in a language such as R or Matlab would be highly desired, as would experience with GIS applications software. The most qualified applicants will have relevant experience, expertise in biological and physical processes in streams, and a strong interest in stream and riparian systems and disturbance.
Evidence of successful participation in team projects would be helpful. Applicants must have completed and defended their Ph.D. by the start of the appointment. Previous peer-reviewed scientific publications are highly desirable. Interested applicants should submit the following:

1) Cover letter, C.V., and the names and contact information for three references
2) Unofficial transcripts
3) Examples of your published work
Funding is available for one year, with a second year for reappointment pending satisfactory performance.
The position will involve field research in a number of locations in southern British Columbia and Ontario. The Post-Doctoral Fellow will be based at the University of British Columbia under the supervision of John Richardson and Dan Moore.
UBC hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity. All qualified persons are encouraged to apply. However, Canadian citizens and permanent residents in Canada will be given priority. We especially welcome applications from members of visible minority groups, women, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, persons of minority sexual orientations and gender identities, and others with the skills and knowledge to engage productively with diverse communities.

For more information or to apply, contact:
Dr. John Richardson, University of British Columbia john.richardson@ubc.ca

Dear all,

The Distributed European School of Taxonomy (DEST), an initiative under the CETAF umbrella and managed by RBINS, has launched its NEW website and training programme for 2014-2015!

Check out the Modern Taxonomy programme offering intensive theoretical courses in various subjects. Also, have a look at the Expert-in-training programme enabling trainees to develop and strengthen their taxonomic research skills through on-the-job-training.

Several of our training courses focus on freshwater taxa and might be of particular interest to you:
Training program in non-marine diatoms from the (sub-) Antarctic Region
Training programme in Crustacean systematics with specialisation in Cyclopidae (Copepoda)
Systematics of freshwater subterranean Malacostraca: Morphology, molecular systematics, and web-taxonomy

Thank you for spreading the word!
With best regards,

DEST Training
Coordination – Dr Isabella Van de Velde
Secretariat – Dr Hendrik Gheerardyn
www.taxonomytraining.eu
dest-training@naturalsciences.be

Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Vautierstraat 29, B-1000 Brussel
Tel: 32 2 627 43 34 (336)
http://www.naturalsciences.be

Links
Systematics of freshwater subterranean Malacostraca: Morphology, molecular systematics, and web-taxonomy

Modern Taxonomy Programme

Expert-in-Training Programme

Training program in non-marine diatoms from the (sub-) Antarctic Region

Training programme in Crustacean systematics with specialisation in Cyclopidae (Copepoda)

The Center for Applied Geosciences (ZAG) invites applications for the following position:

Postdoc in Experimental Environmental System Analysis

which can be filled in immediately. Employment is for up to 3 years (see details below). Extension to
6 years in total is possible. The salary is according to the civil service pay TV-L E13 (100%).
You are currently finishing your doctoral thesis or would like to join a new and dynamic research
group during your postdoctoral time? You would like to realize your own ideas within an
interdisciplinary team? You are highly motivated to contribute to solutions for pressing environmental
challenges? Then this is your unique opportunity!

We are looking for an innovative scientist to actively contribute to the interdisciplinary research
program of the work group «Environmental System Analysis», with special emphasize on the
combined chemical and biological impacts of human activities in the (aquatic) environment (e.g.
pollution, land-use change). The specific area of expertise is open, but should be integrated into and
complement with the current research activities of the work group (www.geo.uni-tuebingen.de/
en/work-groups/applied-geosciences/institut/umweltsystemanalyse/arbeitsgruppe.html). Expertise
in experimental laboratory and/or field research is especially welcome.

The ZAG enjoys an internationally excellent reputation in applied environmental research. Close
collaborations with other large research institutions in Germany, like the Leibniz-Institute of
Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, as
well as with international partners, exist.

Minimum requirements for filling the position are a doctoral degree and a distinguished record in
research. Educational skills are desired since the successful candidate is expected to teach courses
in the B.Sc. and M.Sc. programmes of the Department of Geosciences at the Universität Tübingen.
Acquisition of third-party funds and (co-)supervision of doctoral students will be welcome.
The Universität Tübingen is an equal opportunity employer and specifically welcomes applications
from female scientists. Preference will be given to applicants with disabilities when qualifications are
equivalent.

Please complement your application (cover letter, full CV including list of publications and teaching
experience, copies of certificates) with your proposed research program (not more than two pages),
preferably indicating linkages to other research groups of the ZAG, and including the required
timeline at the Universität Tübingen (2 to 3 years). Please submit your documents as a single pdffile
to Prof. Dr. Christiane Zarfl (christiane.zarfl@uni-tuebingen.de) until November 15, 2014. The
applicant should also arrange for two reference letters to be sent to the above mentioned email
address.

Three-year positions for a PhD student and a post doc will be open in the project focusing on freshwater communities along elevational gradients. Positions are funded by the Emil Aaltonen Foundation. Positions will be targeted to planktonic and benthic communities in lakes and streams and will be located in Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Finland. The department (110 employees with a budget of 9 million € per year) is the leading unit in research and teaching in its field in Finland.

The ongoing global change poses unprecedented challenges to living organisms on Earth. Ecosystems at high latitudes and altitudes are expected to be among the most vulnerable systems to global change, and thorough knowledge on their biodiversity and functioning is thus urgently needed. The gradients in biotic communities along elevation may give deep insights into how communities change under a changing climate. Elevational gradients offer a highly useful natural “laboratory” for examining the potential effects of future warming. Although the literature on global change and elevational diversity is relatively extensive and rich, smaller organisms (e.g. bacteria and algae) important in many ecosystem processes have been left understudied. Patterns and processes have also been examined largely separately for the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Our aim is to examine how aquatic biota (e.g. species richness, composition, C:N:P stoichiometry, phylogenetic diversity) responds to drivers operating at multiple scales ranging from local scale variables such as water chemistry to land use and large scale climatic variables.

The positions will be available for three years, starting from the beginning of the 2015 to the end of 2017. Both researchers will receive a personal tax free grant (25 000 € per year for a PhD student and 28 000 € per year for a post doc). A successful applicant is expected to have a Master`s or PhD degree in ecology, limnology, hydrobiology or geography (or any other relevant field of science). An ideal candidate shows high motivation, enthusiasm for science and ability to work independently and as a member of a research group. Prior experience in field and laboratory work and skills in statistical analyses will be important assets for the positions. The posts will include field work in Finland, Norway, Italy and possibly in China, sample counting and other laboratory work, data analyses and manuscript writing.

The application documents should include:

1. Motivation letter explaining why he/she is interested in position and why he/she is an excellent candidate for the position
2. CV including education and prior research experience
3. One-page summary of the MSc or PhD thesis and list of relevant publications (if any)
4. Name and contact information for two academic referees

The printed application documents should be sent no later than 15.11.2014 to mail address below.

Assistant Professor Janne Soininen
Department of Geosciences and Geography
PO Box 64
00014 University of Helsinki, Finland

http://blogs.helsinki.fi/jhsoinin/

More info on the research group here.

The IMAR-Institute of Marine Research, MARE-Marine and Environmental Research Centre and the University of Coimbra announce the Intensive Course ‘Methods on Litter Decomposition’.

Litter decomposition is an important functional process in freshwaters, estuaries and soil. The aim of this course is to introduce some techniques currently used in litter decomposition studies to those interested in initiating research in this field.

The target public are M.Sc. / Ph.D. students as well as Post-Docs initiating research in detritus processing research area.

The course will be held at the University of Coimbra between April 13 and 17, 2015.

Lectures:
Cláudia Pascoal, Fernanda Cássio & Sofia Duarte
University of Minho & CBMA – Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology, Braga, Portugal.
Eric Chauvet
Université Paul Sabatier; EcoLab – Laboratoire d’Écologie Fonctionnelle, Toulouse, France
Manuel Graça & Verónica Ferreira
University of Coimbra & IMAR / MARE, Coimbra, Portugal
Mark Gessner
Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) and Department of Ecology, Berlin Institute of Technology, Germany

For additional information please see: www1.ci.uc.pt/imar/stream_14/.

EFFS Award for the best PhD Dissertation in Freshwater Sciences
Call 2013–2014

1. The European Federation for Freshwater Sciences (EFFS) launches a new call of the EFFS Award for the best PhD Dissertation in Freshwater Sciences, which will recognize outstanding scientific and intellectual work in the field of Freshwater Sciences performed by Early Career Researchers in Europe.

2. Applicants for this Award will include all authors of doctoral theses submitted in
Europe in the field of Freshwater Sciences. Applicants should be members of an
Association related to Freshwater Sciences and affiliated to the European Federation
for Freshwater Sciences (EFFS). The PhD dissertation can be written in any European
language.

3. Applicants should submit their application form to their reference Association. PhD
dissertations must be accompanied by an extended abstract in English not longer than
5 printed pages single spaced, and containing a maximum of 4 figures. The extended
abstract have to be signed by the supervisor(s) along with the list of publication
related to the PhD work.

4. Federated Associations will perform a pre-selection according to common rules and
time schedule for selection, and using evaluation criteria similar to those for Marie
Curie fellowship proposals. E.g. PhD dissertation will be evaluated according to their
scientific/technological quality (score 0-20), originality (0-20), methodological
approach (0-20), relevance and potential scientific impact of the work carried out (0-
20).

5. For this call, the PhD thesis must have been defended during the years 2013-2014.
6. Each Association can submit two selected PhD dissertations for the final evaluation by
the end of January 2015. This number is increased proportionally for those
Associations collecting members from more than one European country (e.g. AIL
collects both Spanish and Portuguese members and the number of dissertations can
be 4). In any case, no more than four dissertations can be presented by each
association.

7. The final evaluation will be carried out by an international Jury by the end of February
2015. Members of the Jury are identified among the members of the Board of
Representatives at EFFS. The evaluation criteria are based on the evaluation reports
submitted by national associations, and by the attribution of the scores specified in 4
(above) to the extended English abstract in English (point 3).

8. The Award will consider one main and two subsidiary prizes:
- The main prize will consist of a Diploma and a grant to attend the next
Symposium for European Freshwater Sciences (SEFS), including registration fee, travel
and lodging. During this meeting, the winning author will be required to give a
dedicated Plenary Lecture on his/her PhD dissertation topic.
- The winners of the subsidiary prizes will receive a Diploma and a grant
covering the registration fee to attend the next Symposium for European Freshwater
Sciences (SEFS).

9. Recipients of the Awards will be informed at least three months before the opening
day of SEFS.

10. An awards ceremony will take place just before the dedicated Plenary Lecture. In
addition to the Plenary Lecture – given by the main prize winner – the three winning
theses will be exhibited during the next SEFS meeting in a section of the venue
dedicated to the association of European Fresh and Young Researchers (EFYR). The
exhibition will include at least one hard copy of the theses (we will also encourage the
distribution of e-copies) and a poster explaining the contents of each winning thesis.
Hard copies, electronic copies (if any), and posters must be provided by the authors
themselves.

EFFSAwardforthebestPhDDissertationinFreshwaterSciences_2013-2014

The SEFS 9 website is already online!

Check it out here, and don’t miss the key dates!

15.07.2014:
Call for special sessions, workshops, short courses
15.09.2014:
Deadline for submitting special sessions
30.10.2014:
Notification to presenters of special sessions
15.11.2014:
Call for abstract
01.12.2014:
Early Registration is open
31.01.2015:
Deadline for submitting abstracts
01.04.2015:
Notification to presenters on acceptation of the abstracts
15.04.2015:
End of early registration
06.2015:
Program Schedule Posted
30.06.2015:
Late Registration until 30.06

The Bioengineering School of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium, announces the opening of a full-time academic position for a specialist in ecological modelling of aquatic ecosystems, starting October 1st, 2014.

Please note that the dead line for application has been extended to April 30h, 2014.
The detailed job description and expectations are included in the joined document (http://www.freshwatersciences.eu/public/files/FacultypositioninEcologicalmodellingMarch2014.pdf).

More info: http://www.ulb.ac.be/emploi/index.html

Postdoc position in freshwater ecology at Washington State University (https://listserv.umd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind1403a&L=ecolog-l&P=12735)

2 full time field technicians available - Glacier National Park (https://listserv.umd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind1403c&L=ecolog-l&P=1310)

 Post-doctoral Research Associate Position – extreme environmental effects on demography of stream fish and salamanders – USGS Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center (https://listserv.umd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind1403b&L=ecolog-l&P=7873)

A Postdoc position opened at the Laboratory of applied hydrobiology, University of South Bohemia in in České Budějovice. The research activities of the applicants will be are realized within one of two key specializations: 1) Interconnection between complex pond ecosystem studies and pond aquaculture industry; 2) Ontogeny in fish Term of the selection procedure: First phase: 15.3.2014 is the deadline for submitting applications. Second phase: April 2014 Full details can be found here: Postdoc_position_FFPW_USB_CzechRepublic

The SEFS 9 will take place in Geneva (Switzerland) from the 5 to the 10 of July of 2015…SAVE THE DATE!

SEFS9 Save the date