Scientist: Position in Macroecology and Ecological Modelling

We offer:
A dynamic and challenging full-time research position in an international organization to work on biodiversity change. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to join a highly productive research team with and an outstanding network of international collaborators. S/he will be offered continuous and careful mentoring aimed at strengthening her/his skillset and boosting her/his career opportunities, but also broad independence in research activities and unrestricted intellectual freedom.

The successful candidate will also have the opportunity to enhance her/his professional growth by benefitting from various training programs and by participating to scientific workshops and conferences. S/he will be granted access to state of the art computational facilities. Furthermore, the unique environment of the JRC will grant the successful candidate a privileged position to provide a concrete contribution to societal change by working at the very edge of science-policy interface.

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We propose:
The vacancy is within the Exploratory Research Project “REloading the Anthropocene to Decode Mass Extinction (README)”.

Anthropogenic global change is causing dramatic biodiversity loss, still there are fundamental knowledge gaps on extinction mechanisms and processes, and on the actual severity of the biodiversity crisis. Most studies on biodiversity change face the unresolved challenge of identifying a proper frame of reference. This issue has critical implications for biodiversity monitoring, conservation and restoration.

‍The project README aims at tackling this challenge by devising realistic models of global scale ecological dynamics to simulate planetary biodiversity change from the onset of industrial revolution to present days. This will permit to: (1) obtain an accurate reconstruction of anthropogenic biodiversity change in time and space; (2) advance knowledge on mass extinction drivers and mechanisms, revealing where, when and how humans have impacted the biosphere in the last centuries; (3) tackle the “shifting baselines” problem by providing a frame of reference to assess current and future biodiversity change, as well as to identify proper conservation and restoration targets.

‍The successful candidate will contribute to the development of realistic models of global scale ecological dynamics to simulate planetary biodiversity change from the onset of industrial revolution to present days. This will permit to: (1) obtain an accurate reconstruction of anthropogenic biodiversity change in time and space; (2) advance knowledge on mass extinction drivers and mechanisms, revealing where, when and how humans have impacted the biosphere in the last centuries; (3) provide a frame of reference to assess current and future biodiversity change, as well as to identify proper conservation and restoration targets.

‍More specifically, s/he will contribute to:

• The collection and harmonization of environmental, climatic and ecological data;
• The development of a global scale multispecies community model to simulate biodiversity processes at high temporal and spatial resolution;
• The simulation of global scale biodiversity dynamics from the second industrial revolution to modern days, with the aim of pinpointing the onset of the Anthropocene in space and time;
• Various side research activities aimed, amongst the others, at improving our understanding of extinction mechanisms through the use of in-silico Artificial Life simulations and the analysis of fossil data;
• Provide regular and accurate reports on scientific activities every twelve months and a final report;
• Report to the Project Leader on progress, achievements and potential problems in a timely manner;
• Provide feedback and maintain interactive communication with colleagues;
• Explain the research activities and achievements to third parties, such as scientific communities and the general public;
• Write, disseminate and publish results in peer-reviewed journals.

We look for:

A highly motivated scientist with the following essential qualifications:

• A doctoral diploma in ecology, environmental sciences, ecosystem modelling or related fields. Alternatively, completed university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma and at least five years professional experience in a field relevant to the position;
• Extensive knowledge and experience in the collection and analysis of large geospatial environmental and ecological datasets;
• Have an analytical mind-set and solid modelling skills to collect and make sense of large volumes of information, and make decisions or recommendations based on solid analysis;
• Broad knowledge of ecological theory and experience in biodiversity analysis and modelling (e.g. ecological niche models, ecosystem modelling, metacommunity pattern analysis);
• Strong experience with numerical computing languages (e.g. Python, R, Julia);
• Basic knowledge of cloud, parallel and GPU computing;
• Solid record of research activities documented by publications in international peer-reviewed journals;
• Good oral and written communication skills in English (B2).

In addition, the following competences will be considered an advantage:

• Familiarity with network science (e.g. ecological network analysis, food-web modelling);
• Knowledge of low level programming languages (e.g. C++, C#, COBOL);
• Multidisciplinary interests and mindset (e.g. math, physics, social sciences, astrobiology etc.);
• Ability to work in a team and in a multi-cultural environment.

The candidate is expected to be creative and work independently

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) provides independent, evidence-based knowledge and science, supporting EU policies to positively impact society.

‍The vacancy is within the Directorate for Sustainable Resources. The Directorate supports the European Commission with scientific evidence in the areas of the natural environment, environmental quality and sustainable use of natural resources. The operational scientific research will take place in the Food Security Unit.

‍Further information is available at: JRC science and knowledge activities (europa.eu)

‍The JRC Exploratory Research Programme is a strategic initiative characterised by ideas that might lead to novel results and qualitatively enrich current JRC scientific work. The Scientific Development Programmes Unit is in charge of the overall JRC Exploratory Research Programme.