WILDLABS
World Wide Fund for Nature/ World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
We seek a doctoral student to join the Move.inFormation research group in an exciting new project investigating the use of social information for optimal movement in the largest of soaring birds, the Andean condor. The candidate will use animal attached bio-loggers and remote sensing to quantify the value of social information for increased certainty in movement decisions when the dynamism of multiple resource landscapes are considered (e.g., environmental energy, food). The position provides an exciting opportunity for candidates wishing to conduct in-depth research into collective movement strategies with state-of-the-art methodologies. It has a strong interdisciplinary focus at the intersection of ecology, behaviour, engineering and physics and runs in affiliation with the Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour and the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior.
View the full job posting here.
Supervisors: Dr. Hannah Williams & Prof. Wikelski
Responsibilities:
- Establish a long-term field site for the tracking of a population of Andean Condors (Argentina) through yearly field trips (between 1 and 2 months long)
- Deployment (and possible development) of cutting-edge bio-logging technology (GPS, proximity, IMU, environmental variables)
- Map resource landscapes and the social landscape
- Model social information use in movement decisions
- Complete a PhD thesis and present work in conferences, outreach and/or publication.
- To engage in teamwork and with the Move.inFormation group.
Competencies:
- The ideal candidate should be enthusiastic about the use of bio-logging devices and have experience or a strong desire to work in the field with remote working conditions.
- Prior experience with programming (e.g. R, Python, MATLAB), and animal movement models (e.g. agent-based, step-selection) would be very beneficial for the analyses of complex movement data.
- Strong organisational skills for working with large data sets and code sharing
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills to work with equal collaborators in Argentina and other German Institutions
- Applicants should ideally have a Masters degree in any scientific discipline including biology, physics, or mathematics.
- The working language of the group is English, and German language skills are not a requirement, although the candidate will be exposed to German and Spanish in the office and field respectively.
Supervision and Research Community: The candidate will join the Move.inFormation research group led by Dr. Hannah Williams within the University of Konstanz and benefit from the joint supervision of Prof. Martin Wikelski director of the Migration Department at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, and Prof. Sergio Lambertucci based in Bariloche, Argentina and lead of the collaborating team GRINBIC, INIBIOMA, CONICET. The candidate will have the opportunity to join the International Max Planck Research School for Quantitative Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution (IMPRS-QBEE), a joint doctoral program between the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the University of Konstanz, which together form a thriving research community representing a global hotspot for collective behavior and movement research.
Application Process: Questions can be directed to Dr. Hannah Williams via e-mail: [email protected]. We look forward to receiving your application until 15.03.2024 via our Online application portal (to be activated in the coming week). Please attach your research statement and CV, along with two references to the online application.