Thursday, December 9, 2021

PhD position on pond turtles and metabarcoding

The LOEWE Center for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (LOEWE-TBG) aims at making the genomic basis of biological diversity accessible for basic and applied research. Building on genome sequencing and analysis, LOEWE-TBG research topics range from comparative genomics, natural products genomics, and genomic biomonitoring to functional environmental genomics. LOEWE-TBG is based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and is a joint venture of the Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung (SGN), Goethe-University Frankfurt, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen and Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology.

Subject to funding approval LOEWE-TBG and the Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung invite applications for a

PhD Position (m/f/d; 65%) in the EU-project

EMYS-R: A socio-ecological evaluation of wetlands restoration and reintroduction programs in favor of the emblematic European pond turtle and associated biodiversity: a pan-European approach

Project background: Over the last 3 decades, the EU has funded numerous projects for wetland restoration in favor of the European pond turtle. Yet the results of these measures need to be more intensely promoted. A key question remains unanswered: what are the most effective wetland restoration methods suitable for sustainable maintenance and recovery of the European pond turtle and associated wildlife throughout Europe?

EMYS-R consolidates an existing international network of researchers and stakeholders to share complementary knowledge on past, present and future wetlands, biodiversity and their management. It is a 3-year participatory action-oriented research project based on seminal theories in humanities, social and natural sciences. It aims at testing the hypothesis that higher degrees of wetland restoration can compensate for limited capabilities of captive bred turtles to settle in the wild, and assess how specifically such conservation actions benefit society by bringing together people and nature.

Your tasks:

The successful PhD candidate will be involved in the ecological assessment of wetland restoration, turtle reintroduction and consequences on local biodiversity including non-target species. While based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, the candidate will spend a substantial amount of time at the German and French field sites, and will also be traveling to trainings and meetings in Poland and Latvia, contributors of the EMYS-R consortium. More specifically, the successful candidate will conduct the following tasks:

  • Data collection: behavioral (animal-borne data loggers including GPS and time-depth-acceleration recorders), biometric/demographic (capture-mark-recapture protocols) and ecological (water, sediment, turtle-centered prey-predators feces samples) on the German study site in Neuburg am Rhein

  • eDNA Metabarcoding of environmental (water and sediment) and ecological (turtle prey-predator feces) samples

  • bioinformatic analyses of metabarcoding sequences for genomic biodiversity monitoring and food web analyses

  • Data analyses of existing and formerly collected time series on turtle behavior, biometry and demography

  • Support and then lead field sessions in Neuburg am Rhein

  • Support with public perception seminars and workshops in Neuburg am Rhein

  • Literature review on German-written grey literature about wetland renaturations and turtle reintroductions

  • Writing scientific publications, contributing to national and international conferences, as well as to internal

    reports and international guidelines

 

Your profile:

  • Master degree in Biology, Ecology, Environmental Sciences, or equivalent

  • Programming experience with manipulating large database (Metabarcoding sequences, behavioral long time

    series)

  • knowledge in R, MatLab and Linux desirable

  • Experience in the molecular genetic lab

  • Experience with Metabarcoding desirable

  • Mastering multivariate statistics

  • Interest in interdisciplinary approaches

  • Proven capabilities in implementing field protocols in remote places in autonomy and within a team

  • Able to team up within a large international consortium

  • Professional communication skills within the scientific consortium, but also with local stakeholders

  • Fluent (speech and writing/reading) in German and English

  • Ideally you are owner of the driving license B, are easy with wetlands and are able to swim

    Salary and benefits are according to a full-time public service position in Germany (TV-H E 13, 65%). The contract should start as soon as possible – but no later than April 1st, 2022 - and will initially be limited for 3 years.

    The Senckenberg Research Institutes support equal opportunity of men and women and therefore strongly invites women to apply. Equally qualified handicapped applicants will be given preference. The place of employment is in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

    Please send your application, mentioning the reference of this job offer (ref. #12-21008) before 14.01.2022 by e-mail (attachment in a single pdf document) and including a cover letter detailing research interests and experience, a detailed CV and a copy of your certification to:

    Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung Senckenberganlage 25
    60325 Frankfurt am Main

    E-Mail: recruiting@senckenberg.de
    For more information contact Dr. Kathrin Theissinger (kathrin.theissinger@senckenberg.de).

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Course: Introduction to DNA Barcoding

 Instructor - yours truly.

Blue samples of DNA across a dark blue background.


Early bird deadline - register soon!

The use of DNA Barcoding continues to enhance species identification and biodiversity conservation. Stay up-to-date with the latest research and join the growing industry with Introduction to DNA Barcoding.

Take advantage of the opportunity to learn from prominent DNA researcher Dirk Steinke as he guides you through a variety of topics that showcase the different applications of DNA Barcoding.

Course dates: January 17 to March 13, 2022
Don't forget to register by December 18, 2021 and save on tuition with our early bird pricing!

Sign me up!

Thursday, October 28, 2021

PhD positions at LIB, Bonn

From the Inbox:


Dear colleagues,

 

I'm currently offering two PhD positions in my recently started SAW-funded junior research group on "Hybrid swarm evolution of native and invasive Phoxinus spp. to the river Sieg, Germany" at the ZMB and ZTM. For those wondering: it's vertebrates --> fish.

 

The exciting thing is that I am looking for i) one person specialising on ecology and morphology of the fishes and ii) the other person focusing on the genomics. So I'd say the project encompasses a large bouquet for different interests and abilities that jointly venture to understand the hybridisation processes and the invasiveness of hybrids in locally endangered minnow populations.

 

Deadline is Nov. 7 2021, apply here https://leibniz-lib.de/en/karriere/!

 

Thanks and best wishes,

 

Madlen

 

 

1628580065501

 

 

              Dr. Madlen Stange

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

MSc position, Bees@School project – Fall 2021

 Changing wild bee species distributions and pollination service shifts

A MSc graduate student position is available in my research group in the Department of Integrative Biology at the College of Biological Sciences - University of Guelph. Research in our group focusses on biodiversity genomics and the development of metabarcoding and metagenomic approaches for biodiversity research. We seek not only information on how communities are composed but also how its members are interconnected and interdependent. In addition to simply counting and registering we explore relationships between community members, to better understand the functional competence of communities, and to model responses to changes in the environment. 

 

I am looking for an enthusiastic MSc graduate student who wants to work on a research project that is done in close collaboration with schools across Canada and the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics. Each year the Bees@School project teams up with 200 school classrooms to provide critical information on the changing geographic distributions of plant-pollinator interactions across Canada, and be of considerable benefit to everyone as pollinator-dependent foods already make up a third of our diet. By combining state-of-the-art DNA metabarcoding of bees, and the pollen they carry, with distribution and climate change data, we explore how distributions of Canada’s bee species are changing along with climate. The project also determines how pollination services shift across Canada, with impacts on food production and landscape management advice to improve vital species chances of persisting in agricultural landscapes and alleviating pollination deficits.

 

Desired quali­fications include excellent communication and strong writing skills (interactions with both school teachers and students are part of the project). The project involves extensive molecular laboratory work (metabarcoding), computational approaches that include some programming and the use of high performance computing infrastructure, as well as GIS modelling. No extensive prior experience is required, but applicants must be willing to learn. Attention to detail and an aptitude towards sometimes tedious manual labour is an asset. 

 

Highly motivated students with a BSc degree and honours research experience (or equivalent) will be considered. Candidates with strong background in Ecology, Molecular Biology, or Environmental Biology are preferred. This position is open to Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Other strong candidates are also welcome to apply. To learn more about this project and the application process, contact me (dsteinke@uoguelph.ca) with your CV, transcript (unofficial is fine), and contact information for two references. 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Dirk Steinke

Department of Integrative Biology | Centre for Biodiversity Genomics

University of Guelph

E-mail: dsteinke@uoguelph.ca

http://steinkelab.uoguelph.ca

Thursday, January 21, 2021

Online Metabarcoding Course - March 1 to 28, 2021



A reminder that this course will start in a little over a month. The deadline for Early bird registration is January 31st to receive a discount. 

I have updated course content to include the newest HTS technology and methods such as metagenomics and transcriptomics. 

Throughout the course, we will explore:

  • High throughput sequencing
  • Metabarcoding/Metagenomics
  • Metabarcoding analytics
  • Recent applications
The course consists of a series of online lectures, research exercises, and group discussions where you have a chance to review the state of current technology, the various platforms used and the suite of bioinformatics tools available for sequence analysis and data interpretation.

Would be great to meet you there!