Global Shark Trends -- two Postdoctoral fellowships PDF/RAs in population modelling / spatial planning.
The project seeks to develop a dashboard of global shark and ray indicators to track conservation outcomes at national, regional, and global scales. The project is an international collaboration between Simon Fraser University, James Cook University, Charles Darwin University, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Shark Specialist Group and Red List Unit, as well as Comms Inc. POPULATION MODELER Candidate #1 is expected to have a good understanding of quantitative population dynamics and their application to policy-relevant ecological problems. A keen interest in hierarchical modeling, Bayesian methods, and reproducible analyses would be an advantage. An understanding of how information can be borrowed using phylogeny, traits, and geographic structure would be advantageous. SPATIAL PLANNER Candidate #2 is expected to have a good understanding of a wide- range of spatial conservation planning paradigms and methods, including MARXAN, GIS, QGIS. The candidate will develop conservation priorities, based on the knowledge of population trajectory and Red List status for species, aggregated by location and combined with information on conservation management likelihood. An understanding of reproducible analyses and tool development, e.g. RShiny is advantageous. HOW TO APPLY Both candidates are expected to communicate regularly with the project team and have a desire to work in a policy-facing environment. The candidates will ideally have a PhD but we will consider appointing suitably qualified quantitative scientists. The candidates will ideally be based at Simon Fraser University within the Earth to Ocean Research Group in the Department of Biological Sciences, under the supervision of Dr Nicholas Dulvy. The positions may continue for 2.5 years, subject to continued funding and review after six months, and can begin as early as Sept 1, 2018. Salary will be commensurate with experience, and include medical and dental benefits. Applications will be reviewed beginning Aug 1st, 2018. Candidates should submit a CV (including reference contact details), and a brief (2 pages or less) description of research interests and career goals provided in a single PDF document in the order described here, via email to du...@sfu.ca with the subject heading “GST PDF”. Please make it clear which post you are applying for.
