At the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences (BioEnv) we have teaching and research activities that stretch from the alpine ecosystem, through forests, cultivated land and streams, all the way into the marine environment. In these environments we study different levels of biological organisation from genes, individuals, and populations, to communities and ecosystems. We work within ecology, evolution, physiology, systematics, and combinations of these fields to understand the impact of natural and anthropogenic changes of the environment.

This PhD project is within the broad research field of Forest Ecology with likely ramifications into climate change research, biogeography, genomics, evolution and conservation. The overarching aim is to study the spatial and temporal variation of tree communities in the Atlantic rainforests of eastern South America, one of the most biologically diverse yet highly threatened global biodiversity hotspots.

Qualifications 

1. A MSc or BSc in a topic relevant to this project. Knowledge in forest ecology
2. Experience conducting field work under remote/challenging conditions. Experience with quantitative data analysis and/or programming, e.g. in R or Python
3.  Experience working in a team. Experience in remote sensing methods/data collection
4. Experience with scientific publication(s). Experience coordinating field crews. Language skills in Portuguese or Spanish, or ability to learn quickly