About the project/work tasks:
Hydrothermal vents and cold seeps are unique deep-sea environments hosting specialized communities that thrive under the challenging environmental conditions. One of the most characteristic features of Arctic vents and seeps are the dense aggregations of tubeworms called worm forests. Arctic worm forests are formed by tubeworms in the genera Sclerolinum and Oligobrachia (family Siboglinidae) which form long and thin tubes that anchor in sediments and generates a biogenic habitat inhabited by a rich community of invertebrates.
The WormFEST project aims to investigate the community composition, biodiversity and ecosystem functioning of Arctic worm forests. The successful candidate will compare worm forest communities across vents and seeps and explore the ecosystem functioning of the worm forest community by combining food web reconstruction using stable isotopes, and functional trait analyses. As part of the research activities of the Deep-Sea Biology research group, the candidate may get the opportunity to participate on research cruises to the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridges. Food-web and biological traits analyses will be performed in collaboration with researchers at the University of Aveiro (Portugal), and it might be possible for the student to travel to Aveiro to get additional training.
Qualifications and personal qualities:
- Applicants must hold a master’s degree or equivalent education in marine biology, ecology or other related field, or must have submitted his/her master’s thesis for assessment prior to the application deadline. It is a condition of employment that the master’s degree has been awarded.
- Experience with or competence in deep-sea fauna, especially chemosynthesis-based ecosystems (i.e. hydrothermal vents and cold seeps), is an advantage.
- Experience with or competence in food-web reconstruction using stable isotopes is an advantage.
- Experience with or competence in functional traits is an advantage.
- Experience with or competence in community ecology and analyses of ecological data, is an advantage.
- Applicants must be able to work independently and in a structured manner and demonstrate good collaborative skills.
- Applicants must be proficient in both written and oral English.
Personal and relational qualities will be emphasized. Ambitions and potential will also count when evaluating the candidates.
Special requirements for the position
The University of Bergen is subjected to the regulation for export control system. The regulation will be applied in the processing of the applications.
About the PhD position (applies to university PhD positions):
The fellowship will be for a period of 3 years, with the possibility for a 4th year, consisting of 25 % career-promoting work (e.g. teaching responsibilities at the department) distributed over the employment period. The 4th year is contingent on the qualifications of the candidate and the teaching needs of the department and will be decided by the head of department upon appointment.
The employment period may be reduced if you have previously been employed in a qualifying post (e.g. research fellow, research assistant).
We can offer:
- a good and professionally stimulating working environment
- salary as PhD research fellow (code 1017) in the state salary scale. This constitutes a gross annual salary of NOK 540 500 (equivalent to pay grade 55). Further increases in salary are made according to length of service in the position.
- enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
- good welfare benefits
Your application must include:
- a brief account of the applicant’s research interests and motivation for applying for the position
- the names and contact information for two referees. One of these should be the main advisor for the master’s thesis or equivalent thesis
- CV
- transcripts and diplomas showing completion of the bachelor’s and master’s degrees. If you have not yet completed your master’s degree, please submit a statement from your institution confirming that the master’s thesis has been submitted.
- relevant certificates/references
- approved documentation of proficiency in English (if required, cf. English language requirements for PhD admission)
- a list of any works of a scientific nature (publication list with links to published works)
The application and appendices with certified translations into English or a Scandinavian language must be uploaded at JobbNorge.
General information:
For further details about the position, please contact Mari H. Eilertsen. Researcher, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, mari.eilertsen@uib.no.
For HR related questions contact adviser Therese Myhre Odfjell, therese.odfjell@uib.no
The state labour force shall reflect the diversity of Norwegian society to the greatest extent possible. Age and gender balance among employees is therefore a goal. It is also a goal to recruit people with immigrant backgrounds. People with immigrant backgrounds and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply for the position.
The University of Bergen applies the principle of public access to information when recruiting staff for academic positions.
Information about applicants may be made public even if the applicant has asked not to be named on the list of persons who have applied. The applicant must be notified if the request to be omitted is not met.
Further information about the employment process can be found here.
