POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY: Co-VITAS project
Co-VITAS is a collaborative traits gathering project coordinated by Université Laval in Quebec (Alison Munson) and by the Canadian Forest Service (Isabelle Aubin, curator of TOPIC: Traits of plants in Canada). In summer 2014, the project undertook a Canada-wide sampling of traits of six ubiquitous understory boreal plants, with over 20 collaborators from the west to east coast. The project aims to investigate intra- and interspecific trait variability across a continental scale, to understand the potential response of this important compartment to global change. Both above and belowground traits were measured across this continental climatic gradient, but also on local gradients of disturbance (forest fire, harvest and insects, compared to the natural, undisturbed forest). The data bank is currently being completed by chemical analyses of tissues and will be ready for analysis in May, 2015. We will also have data on genetic variability for two species, and there may be an opportunity to work at this interface between genetics, ecophysiology and community ecology. We are looking for a postdoctoral candidate who has a strong background in functional ecology (trait-based approach is favored), and the ability to undertake the quantitative analyses of this data set, and writeup, within a one year framework. It represents an interesting opportunity for someone possessing excellent programming skills in R, and experience in multivariate analyses, analyses of environmental gradients and potentially path analysis. We expect the candidate to produce one or two high quality manuscripts for publication, therefore strong writing and publishing experience in ecological journals is essential. Previous experience working in a large team, or coordinating a team would be welcome as well. The candidate will have opportunities to organize and lead team meetings, and to work on proposals to continue this work for longer than the year that is currently financed. The expected starting date would be sometime in May (preferred) or early in June, 2015. Interested candidates should send a letter of motivation, their curriculum vitae, and names of two references to the following address: alison.mun...@sbf.ulaval.ca<mailto:alison.mun...@sbf.ulaval.ca> The postdoctoral position is offered for one year at $33 000 CAN (+social benefits and vacation pay). The candidate will be member of a dynamic research center, the Center for Forest Research (le CEF: www.cef-cfr.ca<http://www.cef-cfr.ca>) that represents 60 researchers from 11 universities in the domains of forest ecology and forest biology. The position is based in Quebec City, a 400 yr-old city which is a wonderful place to live and work, especially if you like outdoor activity and a francophone culture! The cost of living is very reasonable and the quality of life, high. The candidate will also spend some time with Isabelle Aubin, in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. The closing date is April 6, but we will continue to look at candidates if we have not found the right person before this date. Any questions regarding the position should be addressed to Alison Munson, address above. For our labs: http://www.cef-cfr.ca/index.php?n=Membres.AlisonMunson http://www.cef-cfr.ca/index.php?n=Membres.IsabelleAubin International summer school in plant functional traits: There are still several places available in our school from May 10-16th in the Laurentian Mountains north of Montreal. Please visit our web page for more information: http://www.cef-cfr.ca/index.php?n=Membres.AlisonMunsonPlantTraits
