Are you an early career researcher looking for your first challenge?  Do you have a background in quantitative ecology and modelling, ideally in marine environments? Do you want to further your career in one of the UK’s leading research intensive Universities?

Coral reefs globally are threatened by rising ocean temperatures due to climate change. Knowing which corals are the most/least exposed to thermal stress in a location can aid conservation planning. We have downscaled the newest CMIP6 sea surface temperature projections to the highest resolution currently possible (1 km) for coral reefs globally (Dixon et al. 2022), and created a data portal to facilitate data use (https://highrescoralstress.org/).

We are now looking for a person with modelling expertise to test relevant thermal stress thresholds for coral bleaching occurrence. The research assistant will develop models based on bleaching observations and HighResCoralStress data, help create material to disseminate the findings at the Species on the Move conference, and help write up the results.

For this role, you should have a first degree/Masters in quantitative ecology, ideally with some marine background, or a closely allied discipline. You should also have experience in modelling and quantitative analysis in R.

The University of Leeds and the Faculty of Biological Sciences are committed to providing equal opportunities for all and offer a range of family friendly policies. The University is a charter member of Athena SWAN (the national body that promotes gender equality in higher education), and the Faculty of Biological Sciences was awarded a Silver award in 2020.  We are proud to be an inclusive Faculty that values all staff, and are happy to consider job share applications and requests for flexible working arrangements from our employees. Our Athena SWAN webpage provides more information. 

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact:

Dr. Maria Beger, Associate Professor in Conservation Science

Email: [email protected]