Doctoral Candidate (PhD) in Experimental Marine Ecology

About us:

Response diversity describes the variation in how individuals, species, or functional groups respond to environmental change and the concept is increasingly recognised as a key driver of ecosystem resilience. Understanding and promoting response diversity is therefore essential for conserving biodiversity and supporting resilient ecosystems in a changing world.

The University of Oldenburg invites applications for a Doctoral Candidate position within the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network ReDiLEEP. ReDiLEEP brings together leading universities, research institutes, and non-academic partners across Europe and beyond to advance response diversity research and translate new knowledge into ecosystem management, restoration, and biodiversity policy.

The Doctoral Candidate will contribute to this effort by investigating response diversity (RD) in marine pelagic ecosystems, focusing on how plankton communities respond to changing environments, and how response diversity is shaped by adaptation and spatial dynamics. To achieve this aim, the candidate will conduct lab experiments ranging from simple bioassays to complex metacommunity experiments. Secondments on pulse disturbance experiments at Trinity College Dublin and on modelling resilience and RD at University of Zürich are planned.

Research Project DC3

DC3 will use empirical plankton ecology to analyze both the stabilizing consequences of RD and the dynamics of RD under environmental change. The candidate will test i) whether communities with larger RD in terms of thermal reaction norms show more stable biomass production and stoichiometry under gradual warming (press disturbance) and in response to a marine heatwave (pulse disturbance), ii) whether under sustained environmental change, RD declines, and iii) whether RD is refilled through spatial dynamics in metacommunities or during adaptation (and thus shifted response traits) under temperature change. The project comprises four types of experiments: E1: Bioassay and thermal reaction norms of monocultures and natural phytoplankton communities. E2: Long term microcosm study on gradual temperature increases to quantify biodiversity (Hill numbers) and warming-induced changes in community composition, biomass, and elemental stoichiometry. Communities will then be split into two sub-experiments: E2a isolates 5–10 species (control and +6°C) to determine thermal reaction norms (5–30°C), linking RD to stability; E2b undergoes a heatwave (+6°C for 7 days) to test if warm-adapted species reduce pulse disturbance RD. E3: Laboratory setup of 36 metacommunities under three connectivity levels (none, medium, high) to test spatial dynamics of RD.

Your tasks:

• Create a Personal Career Development Plan (PCDP) outlining research objectives, timelines, skill development goals, and career aspirations. Organise, prepare and follow up biannual meetings of the supervisory teams.
• Plan, prepare, conduct and analyse the experiments
• Publish the results in form of scientific papers as well as contributions to (inter-)national conferences and workshops
• Active participation in the scientific and group work of the Plankton Ecology Lab in Wilhelmshaven
• Participate actively in ReDiLEEP network training, secondments, dissemination, reporting, and cohort activities.

The position includes 5 months of planned secondments: i) Two months at the Trinity College Dublin (working group of Ian Donohue) to develop methods to analyse pulse disturbance responses, starting at M14. ii) Three months at the University of Zürich (working group of Owen Petchey) to learn about modelling, resilience and RD metrics, starting at M21.

The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary cohort of doctoral researchers and benefit from ReDiLEEP training in response diversity methods, data management, reproducible code, R/Tidyverse, machine learning and AI for ecologists, visualisation, evidence-based policymaking, science-policy

Your profile:

• Master of Science in Ecology, Marine or Aquatic Environmental Science, Biology or related disciplines
• Experience in wet lab methods and experiments, preferentially with experience in phytoplankton cultivation and microscopy
• Interest in general ecological concepts, biodiversity research
• Experience in general statistics (preferentially in R)
• Fluency in English in Reading, Speaking and Writing
• Ability to communicate about science, exemplified by talks, workshop participation or similar
• Preferentially experience in scientific publishing, exemplified by peer-reviewed manuscripts

Applicants must additionally meet the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network eligibility requirements at the recruitment date:

• Mobility rule: applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity, such as work or studies, in Germany for more than 12 months during the 36 months immediately before the recruitment date.
• Applicants must not already hold a doctoral degree.
• Upon selection, the applicant will become a doctoral candidate and be enrolled in a doctoral program at University of Oldenburg.
• Upon selection, applicants must work full-time and exclusively for the ReDiLEEP project during the appointment, in accordance with the applicable MSCA rules.
• Exceptions to the mobility rule apply for compulsory national service, refugee status and temporary protection.

We offer:

• A 36-month, full-time doctoral position at the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Wilhelmshaven, at the University Oldenburg, in an international MSCA Doctoral Network.
• Participation in the OLTECH graduate school of the Mathematical-Natural Science Faculty of the University of Oldenburg.
• Stimulating scientific environment in an internationally connected, open, and friendly working environment.
• Relocation and integration support through the German EURAXESS Centre, including guidance on visas, residence permits, social security, and daily-life integration.

We offer a stimulating scientific environment in an internationally connected, open, and friendly working environment. We will provide mentoring and support to establish or further develop science skills, both through support within the institute and through the graduate school at the University of Oldenburg. The compatibility of work and family life is of particular concern to the University of Oldenburg. Therefore, we offer the opportunity for flexible working time and workplaces. Equal opportunity is an inherent part of our personnel policy.

Our standards:

The University of Oldenburg is dedicated to increase the percentage of female employees in the field of science. Therefore, female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. In accordance to § 21 Section 3 NHG, female candidates with equal qualifications will be preferentially considered. Applicants with disabilities will be given preference in case of equal qualification.

Notes:

The appointment is subject to finalMarie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) eligibility verification, doctoral programme enrolment, and completion of administrative onboarding.

Further information:

First day of work is earliest , latest .