Call for a pre-doctorate position with a strong interest in freshwater ecology

We seek an enthusiastic candidate with a strong interest in freshwater (rivers) ecology, with a specific understanding of modelling ecological indicators in waterways. The PhD candidate will work within the Freshwater Ecosystems Research Group at IHCantabria. The group’s main interest lies in researching and determining the main biophysical mechanisms that confer resilience to freshwater and adjacent terrestrial ecosystems, allowing them to maintain their functionality and biodiversity in the face of natural or anthropogenic disturbances.

The PhD’s main objective will be to model reference conditions for primary producers, macroinvertebrates and fish communities in all the Iberian Peninsula rivers. The PhD will use different statistical approaches to model the current reference conditions for the Spanish rivers and the impacts of climate change on them.

The student will access to one of the largest and most consistent river biological datasets in Europe in combination with a robust GIS river network developed by the team using the virtual watersheds approach. This spatial database incorporates climate, geology, land use and land cover, human pressures (e.g., dams, sewage outfalls, etc.) and river network variables.

The working environment at IHCantabria is excellent for young researchers as it allows exploring how scientific and technical developments are made within one of the EU’s leading institutions of water sciences.

https://fundacionih.es/en/convocatoria-para-la-seleccion-de-personal-no-conv-_fihac-06_2022/