Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences is seeking a Postdoctoral Scientist to work on modeling of the North Atlantic right whale response to climate change as part of a project funded by the National Science Foundation.
North Atlantic right whales are in decline, and a rapid climate shift in 2010 abruptly redistributed the whale’s primary prey, leading to changing foraging patterns, and higher mortality rates. The case of the right whale illustrates the consequences of a lack of understanding how an organism responds to climate change. We seek a postdoctoral scientist to develop species distribution models to test hypotheses related to climate adaptation for this species. The successful candidate will work closely with other team members who are developing movement models, studying remotely sensed data layers, and acquiring and obtaining in situ oceanographic datasets. Projects will be led by the postdoctoral scientist but will involve working with a team of PIs (Dan Pendleton and Nick Record at Bigelow Laboratory, and Erin Meyer-Gutbrod at the University of South Carolina) and other collaborators.
The preferred start date for this position is January 2024, and it is funded for a three-year term, contingent on satisfactory annual performance reviews. The salary range for this position is $54,000-68,000, based on experience, with a generous benefits package including health care, retirement contribution, and paid time off. Some supervision of research undergraduates and/or technicians assisting with lab experiments may be required.
Requirements
- PhD in marine ecology, ecological modeling, or other relevant field
- Experience using and integrating diverse data and running models using R or similar
- Experience or strong interest in developing mathematical models
- Track record demonstrating a commitment to publishing research findings
- Strong written and oral communication skills with significant motivation to publish in the peer-reviewed literature
- Strong interest in team-based interdisciplinary science, with the willingness and ability to work independently when required
