The German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) is one of four National Research Centres funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). lt is located in the City of Leipzig and jointly hosted by the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU), the University of Leipzig (UL), and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ). lt is supported by the Max Planck Society, the Leibniz Association, the Klaus Tschira Foundation and the Free State of Saxony. Its central mission is to promote theory-driven synthesis and data-driven theory in this emerging field. The concept of iDiv encompasses the detection of biodiversity, understanding its emergence, exploring its consequences for ecosystem functions and services, and developing strategies to safeguard biodiversity under global change.

Biodiversitylheory is one of the research groups at iDiv, lt aims at describing natural communities by network models comprising the species and their interactions. These complex models are used to understand environmental and anthropogenic constraints on biodiversity as well as the consequences of biodiversity changes for ecosystem functions. Future research will focus on mathematical modeling of the stability and energy fluxes in complex ecological networks, the integration of ecological and biogeochemical models of carbon and nutrient cycles, the combination of ecological and socio-economic models and scaling of biodiversity and functional processes to the landscape level.

The University of Jena offers the following position in Leipzig:

PhD researcher on "Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning Theory" 
(initially limited until September 30th, 2016 with possibility of extension subject to the further funding of iDiv, 65 percent of a full-time employment, Salary: Entgeltgruppe 13 TV-L).

Severely disabled persons are encouraged to apply and will be given preference in the case of equal suitability

Topic / job description:

• mathematical description of elemental fluxes (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous) through complex ecological systems comprising interactions between animal, plant and microbe populations;
• coupling ecological, biogeochemical and atmospheric flux models to understand feedback loops between biodiversity and the global soil and atmospheric cycles of elements;
• address how changes in the biodiversity of ecological communities affect the storage and release of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the recycling of elements in the soll;
• programming ecological models in C and R or similar languages;
• establishment of microcosm experiments addressing the model predictions is possible;
• write scientific papers on the project in internationally peer-reviewed journals and present the research at national and international meetings;
• take part in teaching activities at iDiv or FSU Jena.

Requirements / expected Profile:

• a master degree in biology, ecology, mathematics, physics or a similar discipline;
• interest in mathematical description of ecosystems and ecological programming;
• experience in R or other programming languages;
• knowledge of metabolic theory, food-web sciences and ecological stoichiometry;
• interest in global atmospheric and biogeochemical cycles of elements;
• excellent knowledge of the English language in speaking and writing.

Applications are accepted until September 5th, 2015 and should include a letter of motivation (describing your main interests in ecological topics, the main results of your master thesis and your motivation to apply for this position), a curriculum vitae, the contact details of two academic references and MA/BA/Diploma certificates.

Applications should be sent to application@idiv.de in a single PDF file with registration no. 147/2015 in the subject line and be addressed to Prof. Dr. Ulrich Brose. We prefer applications in electronic form. Hard copy applications can be sent to:

German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Brose
Deutscher Platz 5e
04103 Leipzig

For queries on the application process or more information on this position please contact Prof. Dr. Ulrich Brose at ulrich.brose@idiv.de or telephone number 0341/97 33205.

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