PhD position on mapping ecosystem service tradeoffs at IMBE, Aix-en-Provence

Please distribute to potentially suitable
candidates / Apologies for double-posting

PhD position on mapping ecosystem service tradeoffs

The Mediterranean Institute for Biodiversity and Ecology (IMBE,
Aix-Marseille University, Aix-en-Provence, France), in its
Research Group "Macroecology and Biogeography of
Global Change (MacroBio)" has a 36-months PhD position open for
applications. The position is funded by the European Commission
through the FP7 Research Project OPERAs and affiliated to the French
National Scientific Research Centre (CNRS).

The topic is the broad-scale spatial mapping and quantification of
ecosystem service trade-offs following from management of
agro-ecosystems in the Mediterranean basin. The context of the
research includes the environment (climate, land use) as well as
trends in societal demands for services. Based on scientific
literature, spatial databases and the outputs from a process-based
ecosystem model, the candidate will analyze, quantify and map
ecosystem service trade-offs. Service valuation and indicator
representation methods will be developed with the IMBE team. The
approach is pan-Mediterranean: a significant part of the work will
therefore consist of helping to reduce gaps in data and knowledge
for the sum of countries around the Mediterranean basin.

The research group works in close interaction with international
programs such as Future Earth (through its project ecoSERVICES) and
science-policy interfaces such as IPBES.

The successful candidate will have completed a Masters degree (or
equivalent) in one of the environmental sciences, have experience in
the handling of spatial data from databases, literature and
models, have knowledge of existing concepts of ecosystem
services, and be able to place results in the context of the
Mediterranean basin (this includes the European, as well as North
African and Eastern countries). The working language is English,
appropriate skills in French or another of the Mediterranean
languages will be an advantage.

The position will be filled when a suitable candidate has been
identified. To apply for this position, please send a letter of
application, demonstrating your ability to understand the task, and
your CV as soon as possible, but before the 31st of January 2013,
by e-mail to Ms. Gabriela Boéri (Gabriela.Boeri@imbe.fr).
For any questions about the task, working conditions, or the
OPERAs project, please contact Professor Wolfgang Cramer
(Wolfgang.Cramer@imbe.fr).


Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Cramer
Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et
d’Ecologie marine et continentale (IMBE)
Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, Univ. Avignon,
Technopôle Arbois-Méditerranée
Bât. Villemin – BP 80, F-13545 Aix-en-Provence cedex
04, France
Tel. +33-4-42-90-84-86, http://www.imbe.fr/wolfgang-cramer,
ResearcherID: B-8221-2008