Postdoctoral position OT-17906
post-doctoral researcher in ecology
33140 VILLENAVE-D'ORNON
INRAE presentation
The French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) is a major player in research and innovation. It is a community of 12,000 people with 272 research, experimental research, and support units located in 18 regional centres throughout France. Internationally, INRAE is among the top research organisations in the agricultural and food sciences, plant and animal sciences, as well as in ecology and environmental science. It is the world’s leading research organisation specialising in agriculture, food and the environment. INRAE’s goal is to be a key player in the transitions necessary to address major global challenges. Faced with a growing world population, climate change, resource scarcity, and declining biodiversity, the Institute has a major role to play in building solutions and supporting the necessary acceleration of agricultural, food and environmental transitions.
Work environment, missions and activities
- You will be welcomed in the « Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services » Group of the SAVE Unit (Bordeaux, France). Our group has broad interests in community ecology, landscape ecology, and food-web ecology. In particular, we try to understand how anthropogenic disturbances affect biodiversity and ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. The overarching goal of our research is to design multifunctional landscapes and ecologically sound farming systems. We offer advanced infrastructure and equipment as well as a multidisciplinary working environment.
We are seeking a quantitative ecologist to assess the impacts of land-use intensification on multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem services. In this project, we more specifically aim to (1) identify the effects of land-use intensification operating at different spatial scales on landscape biodiversity; (2) use trait-based approaches to investigate the mechanisms underlying biodiversity response (e.g. niche partitioning, dispersal processes); (3) assess the role of landscape biodiversity in the delivery of multiple ecosystem services. The project builds on existing synthesis work from the Biodiversity Exploratories project by incorporating the roles of landscape biodiversity of arthropods and microbes.
- You will be responsible for collecting data from the areas surrounding the Biodiversity Exploratories grassland plots, situated in three regions in Germany (Schwäbische Alb, Hainich-Dün, Schorfheide-Chorin). These data will be combined with comprehensive existing data from the Biodiversity Exploratories to understand how land-use intensification affects local and surrounding biodiversity within multiple trophic groups, and the consequences of this biodiversity for the local delivery of multiple ecosystem services. This research will be carried out in close collaboration with Dr Gaëtane Le Provost from the UMR SAVE, Dr Andrea Larissa Boesing of the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (Germany), Prof. Peter Manning of the University of Bergen (Norway), Dr Luis Prada Salcedo from the UFZ (Germany), as well as many others within the Biodiversity Exploratories research community.
The successful candidate will be hosted within the SAVE Unit (Bordeaux, France), but will have to carry out biodiversity monitoring within the three regions of the Biodiversity Exploratories project and molecular analyses in Germany. He/she will also be encouraged to travel to Germany and Norway to collaborate with the researchers involved in the project.
Training and skills
Recommended training: We are seeking for a candidate with a PhD in ecology or a related field, a strong interest in community ecology and landscape ecology, and excellent skills in quantitative ecology and data analysis.
Knowledge required:
- Excellent knowledge of ecological theory and biodiversity research
- Fluency in R and an understanding of advanced statistical techniques
- Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and the capacity to collaborate effectively within a large and diverse team of researchers
- A strong publication record and the ambition and capacity to publish in high-impact journals
Appreciated experience:
- Experience in using GIS software (QGIS or ArcGIS)
- Knowledge in entomology and/or microbiology, valid driver's license, and written and oral communication skills in German appreciated
Skills sought: The work will be conducted within a multidisciplinary team. The candidate must have an aptitude for research in a team, while being able to do develop his/her own research.
INRAE's life quality
By joining our teams, you benefit from (depending on the type of contract and its duration):
- up to 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.