The project will investigate the ecological and socio-economic trade-offs at the rainforest margin under land-use change. Previous insights (e.g., Steffan-Dewenter et al. 2007 ) will be extended using dynamic modelling techniques. Based on a large and long-term data set, ecological and socio-economic model components will be developed from scratch that simulate the spatiotemporal dynamics of land use (rainforest, agriculture) and individual households. Combined model analyses will investigate trade-offs in biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and household income.
One position will focus on the development and analysis of ecological models (grid-based and agent based models) while the other will focus on economic modelling (microeconometric models, calibrated agricultural household models). Either position can be filled by a postdoc or a PhD, depending on experience and integrative abilities. The postdoc will be responsible for the integration of ecological and economic model components.
Requirements
Successful applicants hold a master degree in Ecological Sciences, Plant Sciences, Economic Sciences, Applied Mathematics or a related field, with sound experience in simulation modelling and with the work in interdisciplinary teams. The project will be based in Göttingen, Germany, but will involve travelling to Indonesia.
Salary and conditions
The positions will be awarded for at least 18 months, with a possible extension of up to three years. The salary is in accordance with the German state regulated public service salary scale (PhD: 65 % E 13 TV-L, Postdoc: 100% E 13 TV-L). The University of Göttingen actively seeks to foster career opportunities for female scholars and therefore strongly encourages qualified women to apply. Candidates with disabilities who are equally qualified for the position will receive special consideration.
Applications
Applicants should send an application letter, their CV, and the names (with email address) of two referees before September 19, 2010 in a single pdf-file to kwiegan1*uni- goettingen. de. The CV should contain a list of publications and information on the level of experience in the following areas:
-- ecological modelling / developing, programming, and analyzing simulation models
-- advanced statistics and mathematics
-- tropical ecology
-- biodiversity and ecosystem functioning
-- poverty and distributional analyses, microeconometrics
-- modelling agricultural households
Steffan-Dewenter et al. (2007) Tradeoffs between income, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning during tropical rainforest conversion and agroforestry intensification. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104(12): 4973-4978.
Von:
Kerstin Wiegand
kwiegan1*uni- goettingen. de
Abteilung Oekosystemmodellier ung
Goettingen
Ansprechpartner: Prof. Dr. Kerstin Wiegand (general information) : kwiegan1*uni- goettingen. de; Dr. Katrin Meyer (ecological modelling): kmeyer5*uni- goettingen. de Jun.-Prof. Dr. Jann Lay (economic modelling): lay*giga-hamburg. de
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