Requirements

Doctoral degree or equivalent in their specialty. Desirable previous post-doctoral experience but is not a requirement. Must have excellent communication skills, oral and written.
Must be detail-oriented Strong computational skills, including data management, data wrangling, and data management systems. Programming experience (R and/or Python) A demonstrated track record of analyzing complex ecological data. The ability to work independently and as part of an interdisciplinary team Experience in Bayesian modeling

Job Description

Task 1. Compare terrestrial and marine communities in oceanic archipelagos. Based on the Island Biogeography Theory and its multiple extensions that explain species diversity patterns in insular systems. We will use taxonomic and trait-based approaches to explore terrestrial and marine communities. Specifically, we will test whether reef fish, marine invertebrates, birds, and plant communities in oceanic archipelagos exhibit different taxonomic and functional beta-diversity patterns. Task 2. Linking climate change and past, present, and future of fish communities. The redistribution of species due to global environmental changes and the consequences for biodiversity and by extension human well-being are not yet fully understood. Climate change may promote range expansions, contractions, and local extinctions and therefore, affect multiple aspects of diversity, including functional and phylogenetic. Quantifying the impacts of recent ocean warming on the structure of ecological communities and predicting how future climate may continue to modify these assemblages hinges on effectively utilizing large, high quality, datasets. We will model how ocean warming influences species distributions, traits and phylogenetic diversity of fish communities in shallow and mesophotic reefs. Task 3. Evaluate temporal trends in benthic communities. Understanding the temporal dynamics of benthic communities can help identify the impacts of environmental changes, such as climate change, pollution, and habitat destruction. It also allows for the assessment of recovery and resilience following disturbances. This information is vital for informing conservation strategies, managing marine resources, and predicting future changes in marine ecosystems.We will use data from long-term monitoring programs to evaluate changes in the benthic cover over time.