Junior research scientist in spatially explicit assembly rules in freshwater ecosystems under climatic constraints

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INRAE presentation

INRAE, the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment, is a public research organization bringing together 12,000 employees across 272 units in 18 centers across France. As the world’s leading institute specializing in agriculture, food, and the environment, INRAE plays a key role in supporting the necessary transitions to address global challenges.

Faced with population growth, food security challenges, climate change, resource depletion, and biodiversity loss, INRAE is committed to developing scientific solutions and supporting the evolution of agricultural, food, and environmental practices.

INRAE is recruiting researchers by open competition and offering permanent position.

Work environment, missions and activities

RECOVER (Risks, ECOsystems, Vulnerability, Environment, Resilience) is a joint research unit focused on natural hazards and ecosystem functioning. It is located in Aix-en-Provence - Le Tholonet and Marseille Saint-Charles and accounts for about 140 permanent and contract staff divided into four teams. Its objectives are (i) to develop regional knowledge on risks related to forest fires, hydrology, hydraulic structures (e.g. dams) integrity, as well as decision support in this field and (ii) to study the dynamics of aquatic and forest ecosystems under global change constraints, ecosystem restoration issues, and to develop tools and methods for assessing ecosystem status. Global change, multi-hazard or multi-risk management at the territorial scale, and compatibility with ecosystem protection are cross-cutting themes for the teams of the research unit. Additionally, RECOVER contributes to the national INRAE / OFB (French Office for Biodiversity) "Lake Ecosystems" (ECLA) research group and hosts five OFB agents. RECOVER has strong expertise activities, particularly in the field of hydraulic structures. The work relies on laboratories (geomechanics/geosynthetics, forest ecology laboratories, hydrobiology, fish breeding units, mesocosms) and field study sites (e.g. experimental dikes, Réal Collobrier, FontBlanche, Barbentane, Saint Mitre long-term survey sites, Bimont, Zola, Sainte-Croix, Serre Ponçon reservoirs, Lake Allos).

The Freshco team (Functioning and restoration of continental hydrosystems) develops knowledge on the ecological impacts of climate change at cellular, individual, population and ecosystem scales (study of trophic network structures, organic matter degradation, gas fluxes) in continental aquatic environments. The team aims to become a leading reference in thermal ecology in these environments. You will strengthen the team by developing knowledge on the assembly rules that structure communities under climate forcing. This represents an important step in developing our predictive capabilities for the future of assemblages in a context of climate change, particularly in the Mediterranean area, which is particularly affected by these trends. As biodiversity hotspots, these ecosystems are particularly relevant for studying the ecological impacts of global warming.

Your mission will be to define which functional traits, demographic strategies and trait combinations (assembly rules) respond to climate changes, and particularly thermal changes, in spatially constrained environments (dispersal barriers, environmental heterogeneity). The generality of assembly rules may be explored on different faunal groups (fish, macro-invertebrates, plankton). You will study assembly rules under climate and thermal constraints (i) through multi-site studies based on large-scale spatial data (national lake database from the WFD) and long-term monitoring (e.g. 40 years long fish and macro-invertebrate data on the Rhône River) and (ii) through experimental approaches in thermally controlled environments.
The integration of physiological, behavioral, environmental constraints (such as hydrological fluctuations) or trophic interactions in your approaches, as well as the study of links between community dynamics and ecosystem functioning (matter and energy flows) can be done in collaboration with other members of the research unit, the ECLA research group, and other INRAE units (e.g. UR Riverly; UMR Carrtel, UMR ESE) mastering these topics. These questions are integrated into (i) RECOVER's cross-cutting climate change axis, (ii) the "Adaptation to global change and risks" axis of the INRAE PACA center, (iii) Main Research Objective 1 of the AQUA department, (iv) the "Biodiversity erosion: Climate change & invasive species" axis of the ECLA research group and (v) the INRAE BIOSFAIR and CLIMAE metaprograms.

Training and skills

Required education : PhD in Ecology.

Required experience:
- Experience or strong interest in thermal ecology and in the study of climate change ecological impacts

Required skills:
- Theoretical/methodological background in community ecology (preferably in aquatic ecosystems).
- Theoretical/methodological background on assembly rules in the context of climate change and spatial constraints.
- Good knowledge of mathematical and statistical modeling methods in ecology, as well as experimental approaches

INRAE's life quality

By joining our teams, you benefit from:

- 30 days of annual leave + 15 days "Reduction of Working Time" (for a full time);
- parenting support: CESU childcare, leisure services;
- skills development systems: training, career advise;
- social support: advice and listening, social assistance and loans;
- holiday and leisure services: holiday vouchers, accommodation at preferential rates;
- sports and cultural activities;
- collective catering.

For international scientists: please visit your guide to facilitate your arrival and stay at INRAE. 

How to apply

1. I download the applicant guide Application guidelines CRCN 2025 pdf - 3.93 MB
2. I write down the profile number CR-2025-AQUA-1
3. I apply GO