The Plant, fungal and soil ecology lab at the Freie Universität Berlin (Prof. Matthias C. Rillig) seeks a highly motivated PhD student who will be involved in a project within the German Biodiversity Exploratories (http://www.biodiversity-exploratories.de/) focused on the contribution of functional traits of fungal taxa to ecosystem functions under different land use scenarios (FunTrait). The project aims to make a strong contribution to the currently growing field of trait based fungal ecology (Aguilar-Trigueros et al. 2015, Fungal Biology Reviews, 29, 34-41 and references therein). It will increase our knowledge on the importance of individual fungal taxa and their respective traits in maintaining key soil based ecosystem functions under different land use. The successful incumbent will perform high throughput culturing of saprobic soil fungi from grassland plots in the Biodiversity Exploratories. The obtained cultures will be tested for their traits, focusing on key enzymatic activities involved in carbon and nitrogen cycles in the soil. These data will be used to test for links between fungal diversity, community weighted average trait values and enzyme activities measured in the field. The candidate must hold a M. Sc. or equivalent (e.g. Diploma) in biology, ecology or microbiology. Fluent written and spoken English and a drivers licence are required. A strong background in microbiology (preferably with fungi), molecular ecology, community ecology and ecological statistics is desirable.
Duration: 36 months, start date should be the 1st of March 2017. Salary: 65 % of a full position according to E 13 TV-L FU tariff Applications including a CV and a copy/scan of relevant certificates (e.g. Master degree) must be sent not later than 20th of February 2017 to: Freie Universität Berlin Institut für Biologie - Ökologie der Pflanzen, Dr. Stefan Hempel Altensteinstraße 6 14195 Berlin, Germany Electronic applications are welcome. For additional information, please email to: [email protected]
