Postdoctoral and Post-masters
Quantitative Ecology and Ecosystem Modeling Position
NOAA-Fisheries Southeast Fisheries Science Center (Miami)
Sustainable Fisheries Division
Integrated Ecosystem Assessment Team
The Integrated Ecosystem Assessment
Team of the Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC)
(http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov/) is seeking a QUANTITATIVE ECOLOGISTS OR
ECOSYSTEM MODELER to contribute to NOAA's Integrated Ecosystem
Assessment (IEA) work in the Gulf of Mexico Large Marine Ecosystem.
As part of the IEAs, we will perform single-species and
community-level risk assessments, identify ecosystem indicators, test
monitoring schemes, and evaluate management strategies. Appointments
will be made at the post-doc level with salary commensurate with
experience. We seek a postdoctoral or post-masters researcher with
strong backgrounds in quantitative ecology, who wish to develop and
contribute to cutting-edge statistical and simulation models for
marine systems.
Candidates should be interested and
qualified in one or more of the following:
Ecosystem modeling: In
cooperation with the University of South Florida (USF), we are
developing Atlantis ecosystem simulation models
(http://atlantis.cmar.csiro.au/) for the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). We
will be using the models for simulation testing of alternative
ecosystem-based management strategies for this region. Our research
includes identifying and testing ecological indicators and monitoring
strategies for the GOM, considering potential fishery management
options and effects on ecosystem services, and considering tradeoffs
or benefits of the interrelated policies of multiple state and
federal agencies, in terms of economic, ecological, and social
metrics. The new position will largely involve being the scientific
liaison between the USF and the SEFSC using the Atlantis ecosystem
modeling code to support NOAA's IEA work in the GOM. The new team
member primary responsibility will be to learn, apply, and customize
Atlantis ecosystem models with help from the USF. Conversely, the
candidate will make known to the USF the IEA needs of the SEFSC and
help develop the appropriate model modifications to address the GOM
IEA needs.
Quantitative ecology: We are
seeking team members with strong backgrounds in statistics to
contribute to a series of single species and community-level analyses
within the IEA framework. These analyses will help define the status,
susceptibility, and vulnerability of species, communities, and
ecosystem function. The work will make use of existing data sets and
expand beyond classic single-species conservation approaches such as
population viability analysis.
Population and community modeling:
We are seeking team members who are interested in building
population or simple community models in the context of Management
Strategy Evaluation or Closed Loop Analysis. We envision the
development of “minimum realistic models” that could be used to
simulate various management strategies. Such models will complement
the whole-ecosystem models described above because their relative
simplicity will allow for careful consideration of uncertainty. As
resource managers develop specific ecosystem-based management
schemes, these models will provide a key tool for evaluating specific
strategies.
Expectations
For postdoctoral associates,
deliverables will include both peer-reviewed publications and white
papers for use in management. On a daily basis, the positions will
involve computer programming, statistical analyses and parameter
estimation, data and output visualization, and writing manuscripts.
About our Integrated Ecosystem
Assessment Team
We are part of NOAA’s Southeast
Fisheries Science Center, Sustainable Fisheries Division in Miami,
Florida. Our team’s goal is to research the ecological interactions
and processes necessary to sustain ecosystem composition, structure
and function in marine environments. We draw upon expertise from
within and outside the SEFSC to address the following five research
foci:
· Interactions of target fish
stocks with predators, competitors and prey
· The effects of weather and
climate on target species and their ecological communities
· The effects of fishing on
marine ecosystems and fish habitat
· Interactions between fishes
and their habitat
· Marine Protected Areas as a
fisheries conservation and management tool
Term: Funding is currently for 1 year
with the possibility of future funding
Location: Miami, Florida, USA
Qualifications: Ph.D. or M.S. in
ecology, fisheries science, or similar discipline. All candidates
should also have a proven track record of collaborative research, and
a quantitative background in statistics and computing (languages such
as R, Matlab, or Visual Basic). Postdoctoral applicants should have
a strong publication record. For the ecosystem modeling position,
experience with food web modeling and C/C++ is preferred.
Quantitative ecologist and population dynamics applicants should have
relevant experience in areas of multivariate statistics, time series
analysis, parameter estimation, likelihood methods, stock assessment,
and/or differential equation modeling.
Salary: Commensurate with experience
and position.
Contact: Please email a cover letter,
curriculum vitae, and list of references to Dr. Michael J. Schirripa
(
Michael.Schirripa@noaa.gov)
