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PhD offer to study the primary production of benthic communities and the impact of Extreme Climatic Events, such as heat-waves and wind storms, on shallow coastal areas, focusing on the impacts on the biological community and biogeochemical functioning .

What?

We are looking for a motivated candidate to pursue a doctoral thesis in microbial ecology and biogeochemistry of coastal ecosystems. The project will be supported by the MULTIFLUX project, which aims to quantify in an integrated manner the effect of heat waves and wind storms, affecting temperature and sediment resuspension conditions, on the biogeochemical functioning of a shallow coastal ecosystem.

The candidate will use a combination of laboratory experiments, field measurements, and aerial data (satellite, drones…) to study the spatial and temporal variability benthic communities and its contribution to the primary production of the system and evaluate the effect of changes in external forcing by temperature and resuspension/hydrodynamics under normal and extreme conditions on benthic-pelagic coupling and carbon flux throughout the system. Strong focus will be given in the use of benthic chambers and the Aquatic Eddy Covariance technique, in collaboration with our colleagues in SDU (DK). For more information check the project’s webpage here.

When?

It is expected for the PhD to start in January 2025 and will last 4 years, with no possibility of an extension. Depending on the date of the PhD defense, there is the possibility of a postdoc contract within this 4 year period (all contracts included).

Where?

The PhD will be developed in the Microbial Ecology and Biogeochemistry Group of the Department of Biology of the University of Cadiz, under the supervision of Sokratis Papaspyrou and Irene Laiz.

Requirements

• The candidate must have obtained a bachelor’s degree on Marine or Environmental Sciences, Biology or similar and a Master’s degree preferably also in the same topics.
• The candidates must request to be pre-registered in a Doctoral Program in Marine Science and Technology at the University of Cadiz (https://posgrado.uca.es/doctor/)
• Be highly motivated and committed to develop a scientific career.
• Have some experience on biogeochemistry, aquatic ecology, microbiology, remote sensing, environmental chemistry or similar.
• Have experience on scientific reading and writing.
• Have a high level of written and spoken English.

How to apply?

Applications are open from from October 23^rd to November 6^th, 2024 (23:59) on the website: https://ugi.uca.es/convocatoria-formacion-personal-investigador-ministerio-de-ciencia-2024/

Please read the call carefully. If in doubt about any aspect (official call is in Spanish), please let us know.

Applications

• Send the application electronically through the following link: https://sedelectronica.uca.es/procedimientos/?proc=474
• IMPORTANT: In order to get access to the system, the applicant must send an e-mail to rrhh.investigacion@uca.es indicating his/her interest in submitting an application mentioning the call and project. Please do this well in advance before the deadline, as this is not an automated system. If you experience delays, please email us.
• Project Reference: PID2023-146617OB-I00 “Monitorización multiescalar de flujos biogeoquímicos y producción primaria en sistemas costeros someros: el efecto del forzamiento físico y del cambio climático”
• Only a single application is allowed per candidate.
• Documentation to be attached:
  • Documentation certifying pre-admission to the PhD Program by filling in this form. As this has to be signed by the director of the school, please send it to us, we will do it for you and we will send it back to you.
  • Curriculum vitae, using this template: CV
  • Academic certificates issued by the universities where the Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees were obtained: the grades obtained, the scale used, and the date of graduation must appear. For the bachelor’s a full transcript should be provided. If the certificate is in a language other than Spanish or English, an official translation should be included. It is recommended that you check and include in the CV the corresponding scales based on these tables. https://www.universidades.gob.es/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/AnexoII-equivalencias.pdf and https://www.universidades.gob.es/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/AnexoI_escalas_1.pdf
  • Copy of valid passport in case of foreign, non Spanish resident, citizens.
  • Any other documents specified in the call. Please read it carefully.
  • Make sure you upload a pdf copy of all certificates of degrees, courses, languages, employment contracts etc. to back the CV claims. The documentation supporting the merits to be evaluated must be submitted in a single PDF file with a maximum size of 15 MB. If no certificates are included, according to Spanish law, the merits cannot be considered.
• Online interviews will be arranged, if all the paperwork is in order and HR forwards the application to us, during November.

Please, send an email with your CV (any format) and a cover letter to sokratis.papaspyrou@uca.es before applying for the position. Two reference letters should also be sent by referees to the same email, by November 15^th, 2024.

Only applications sent by the official channel will be considered by HR. Sending an email to us is not enough.

Please, be informed that the net salary for the employee after tax and social security contributions for such positions in Spain is approx. 1200€/mo (fixed by the Ministry of Science and Research), plus an extra pay in June and December (check this table). This salary is lower than in other European countries, however the cost of living is also lower. Here is a comparison of the cost of living between Brussels and Cádiz for indicative purposes only.