Postdoctoral Research Associate – Spatial Conservation Modeling The Fletcher Lab at the University of Florida is looking for an exceptional scientist interested in working at the interface of spatial modeling and conservation. The applicant will work with Dr. Robert Fletcher (http://plaza.ufl.edu/robert.fletcher/) at the University of Florida to on a USDA-NIFA funded project. The project focuses on biodiversity and ecosystem service spatial modeling for the southeastern United States. The southeastern United States is a primary contributor to both current and expected future bioenergy production, and this project aims to interpret how land-use change from bioenergy may impact biodiversity and ecosystem services, as well as how these impacts may influence landowner decisions (see Fletcher et al. 2011, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment; Gottlieb et al. 2017, Global Change Biology Bioenergy). In addition, there is potential to extend these questions to global level, given that EU policy is linked to bioenergy production in the southeastern U.S. This project includes several collaborators, including Dr. Jason Evans (Stetson University) who will collaborate on this aspect of the project. The scope of the position provides strong opportunities for the applicant to make rapid career progress on high-impact problems of both fundamental and applied relevance. There are also opportunities to work on other projects in the lab and to spend time on new research and general career development.
Minimum qualifications are a PhD in biological or ecological sciences or a Ph.D. in mathematical or statistical modeling. Preferred qualifications include statistical (e.g., Bayesian hierarchical modeling) and/or simulation modeling experience (e.g., agent-based modeling), GIS skills, strong publication record for the professional stage of the applicant, and honed writing skills. This grant-funded position will open in spring 2019, and is funded for two years minimum. Salary is approximately $47,450, with insurance and benefits package. Applicants should send cover letter, CV, and contact information for three references Dr. Rob Fletcher (robert.fletc...@ufl.edu) by December 15 2018. Information about the City of Gainesville: Situated in the rolling countryside of north central Florida, Gainesville is much more than a stereotypical college town. Home of the University of Florida, seat of Alachua County's government and the region's commercial hub, it is progressive, environmentally conscious and culturally diverse. The presence of many students and faculty from abroad among its 120,000-plus population adds a strong cross-cultural flavor to its historic small-town Southern roots. Its natural environment, temperate climate and civic amenities make Gainesville a beautiful, pleasant and interesting place in which to learn and to live. Gainesville has been ranked as one of the best cities to live in the United States. Florida boasts a diversity of fauna and flora common to both southern temperate and subtropical climates and is replete with springs, rivers, backwater streams, lakes, freshwater and saltwater marshes, mangrove fringes, cypress swamps, hardwood hammocks, sandhills, scrub, pine flatwoods, and rangeland. Nested between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, Florida has more than 2,000 kilometers of coastal beaches and estuaries. Special features include the Florida Keys, which constitute an archipelago of picturesque subtropical islands, and the unique Everglades, or “river of grass,” which sprawls across the vast southern peninsula. Information about the University of Florida: The University of Florida (http://www.ufl.edu) is a Land-Grant, Sea-Grant, and Space-Grant institution, encompassing virtually all academic and professional disciplines, with an enrollment of more than 50,000 students. It was recently ranked in the top 8 public universities by U.S. News and its natural resource and conservation programs were ranked 3rd in the country in a 2017 report. Several units on or nearby the University of Florida campus complement the teaching and research programs of the Department, including The Florida Climate Institute, an interdisciplinary center hosted at UF and comprising 7 Florida universities; Biotechnologies for Ecological, Evolutionary, and Conservation Sciences; the Tropical Conservation and Development Program in the Center for Latin American Studies; Center for Natural Resources; Center for Wetlands; Center for Biological Conservation; Pre-eminence initiatives in Bioinformatics and Biodiversity; Florida Museum of Natural History; Northeast Regional Data Center; National Ecology Laboratory (Sirenia) of USGS; Florida Field Station (Gainesville) of the U.S.D.A. Wildlife Research Laboratory; Southeastern Forest Experiment Station unit of the U.S. Forest Service; The Nature Conservancy; the Wildlife Conservation Society; the Wildlife Research Laboratory of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; and others.
