Hi there
a project that I am involved in is looking for candidates interested in a
fully-funded PhD project focusing on large scale marine mammal
conservation issues and shifting baselines. For more information, see
below.
cheers
Kristin
***********************
Human impact on the global patterns of
marine mammal distribution and abundance
Overview: This 3-year, fully funded, PhD project,
will quantify the impact of historical human activities on the global
patterns of diversity and abundance of marine mammal species. It will be
based at the Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionelle et Evolutive,
Montpellier, France, supervised by Ana Rodrigues. Application deadline:
31 October.
Key words: marine ecosystems, marine mammals, macroecology,
species distribution models, sustainable management, shifting baselines
Background
We live in a human dominated planet, and the oceans are no exception.
Through a combination of a growing population, mounting consumption and
waste, and increasingly sophisticated technologies, human activities now
impact all marine ecosystems, from the deep-sea to coral reefs, to remote
islands, to the open ocean. Whereas these changes are accelerating,
significant human impacts on marine systems started millennia ago. Yet
because such changes took place gradually and with little recorded
evidence, the full scale of the cumulative human impact on marine systems
has only recently begun to be understood through anecdotal historical
records showing evidence of past seas of spectacular abundance. This case
of collective amnesia by the progressive adjustment to increasingly
impoverished ecosystems has been termed the ‘shifting baseline’. It
affects not only scientific and popular perception of what natural
ecosystems look like in terms of species composition and abundance, but
also narrows our perception of the options available for the future.
This project will investigate the extent to which the introduction of an
historical perspective affects perceptions of past human impact,
projections of future change, the goals, targets and options considered,
and ultimately the recommendations for conservation and management of
marine natural resources. This will be done through the lens of marine
mammals, a particularly interesting group given their strong and long
relationship with humans, from millennia-old cave-art, to the
near-obliteration of some species through commercial exploitation, to the
emotional attachment felt even by many who have never been in direct
contact with these species. Furthermore, some of these species have
important roles in shaping ecosystems, and despite their charisma many
remain very poorly known.
Objectives and methods
This project will quantify the impact of historical human activities
on the patterns of diversity and abundance in marine mammal species, as a
basis for conservation and management strategies at the global scale.
Specifically, the project will:
- Review and synthesise
information on the historical and current distribution of all marine
mammal species, both from existing datasets and by compiling scattered
data from the ecological, archaeological, zooarchaeological, and
historical literatures.
- Participate in the development
of statistical models for predicting the current and historical global
distribution of marine mammal species.
- Quantify and map the impact of
historical global change on patterns of diversity of marine mammal
species, using Geographic Information Systems.
- Participate in the development
of a multidisciplinary reflection of the goals, targets and options for
the conservation and management of marine mammals within a
human-dominated planet.
- Contribute to the dissemination
of the results of this project to a wide and diverse audience comprising
scientists, stakeholders and the wide public.
Candidate profile
The successful candidate will possess:
- A solid academic background in
ecology.
- A rigorous and detail-oriented
approach to work with an aptitude for exploring and analysing historical
datasets.
- Strong analytical skills,
including knowledge or capacity to learn GIS and programming skills (for
example in R) for the manipulation and analyses of large spatial
datasets.
- Good interpersonal skills
needed for working as part of a large team, and for coordinating
multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional meetings involving scientists and
stakeholders.
- Good command of the English
language.
Institutional context
This PhD is a part of the ANR-funded MORSE project: “Management of
Ocean Resources under Shifting Expectations - bringing the historical
perspective into marine mammal conservation”. The MORSE project is a
partnership between the Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionelle et Evolutive
(CEFE CNRS UMR5175;
www.cefe.cnrs.fr
), the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
(David Kaplan, IRD UMR212,
www.umr-eme.org/
), and the laboratory Ecologie des systèmes marins
côtiers (Fabien Leprieur, ECOSYM CNRS UMR5119,
http://www.ecosym.univ-montp2.fr), with the
collaboration of a network of international partners.
The student will be supervised by Ana Rodrigues
(
http://www.cefe.cnrs.fr/dynamique-des-paysages-et-de-la-biodiversite/ana-rodrigues
), based at the CEFE, and affiliated with the
SIBAGHE Doctoral School, Université Montpellier 2
(
http://www.sibaghe.univ-montp2.fr
).
Gross income is about 1700€. The student will be hired under a doctoral
contract that includes pension and health benefits. The PhD will start
the 1st of December 2011 or as
soon as possible afterwards.
Application procedure
Please send a detailed CV, course grades from most recent academic
work, letter of motivation, and name and contacts (email and phone
number) of two or more researchers capable of assessing your competence
for this position via email to
ana.rodrigues@cefe.cnrs.fr
by the 31 October 2011.
*************************************
Kristin Kaschner, Ph.D.
Evolutionary Biology & Ecology Lab
Institute of Biology I (Zoology)
Albert-Ludwigs-University
Freiburg, Germany
ph: ++ 49 178 547 7760
email: Kristin.Kaschner@biologie.uni-freiburg.de
http://www.biologie.uni-freiburg.de/data/bio1/kaschner/index.html