Applications are invited for a one-year postdoctoral position with the possibility of yearly extensions based on performance in the lab of Carla Staver in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University. We are seeking a highly motivated and creative scientist to examine long- term temporal dynamics of savanna-forest distributions and boundaries, from theoretical and/or empirical perspectives. Ongoing projects concern (1) quantifying the degree of spatial aggregation in current savanna and forest distributions, (2) disentangling mechanisms for savanna-forest coexistence in landscapes, including spatial interactions at savanna-forest boundaries, and (3) evaluating models against current and historical distributions of savanna and forest. The successful candidate will engage with Carla Staver and other lab members to design original research, from a perspective in line with the candidates experience, including, but not limited to, mathematical or computational modeling, GIS, or paleogeography.
Over large parts of their range, where climate can support forests, savannas persist because fire limits tree cover, which in turn promotes fire. One possible interpretation, supported by theoretical work, is that savannas represent an alternative stable state to forests under some climatic conditions, maintained by a positive feedback with fire. However, this largely ignores potentially substantial boundary interactions between savanna and forest, wherein fires sometimes spread into forests, and forests can spread into savannas via dispersal. These boundary interactions may be fundamental to determining the stability and distribution of savanna and forest globally. Email your application with subject Postdoc, Long-Term Biome Dynamics as a single PDF attachment to Carla Stavers lab email (staver...@gmail.com). Please include (1) a cover letter outlining your research interests, qualifications for the position, and long-term career goals, (2) a CV, and (3) contact information (phone number and email) for three references. Applications will be considered beginning on May 15, 2014 and will be considered until the position is filled. This position is funded by the Forest BH and Elizabeth DW Brown Fund for a postdoctoral fellowship in the plant sciences. More information on the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology is available at www.yale.edu/eeb. For information about postdoctoral appointments at Yale, please see http://www.yale.edu/postdocs/.
