PhD position in the Biological Oceanography Section

Job posting (Bio 05/2024)

The Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW) has a vacancy

 PhD position in the Biological Oceanography Section

for a period of 3 years and a percentage of 75% (30 h/week) starting on October 1^st 2024. Remuneration is paid in accordance with the Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst der Länder (TV-L , Public Sector Collective Agreement on Länder ) at level EG 13 TV-L (75%).

Who are we?

The IOW is an independent research institute of the Leibniz Association for which equal opportunities, family friendliness and work-life balance are very important. Our research focus is on the coastal and marginal seas, especially the Baltic Sea. The staff of the four sections Physical Oceanography and Instrumentation, Marine Chemistry, Biological Oceanography and Marine Geology works interdisciplinary within a joint research programme.

Background about the project

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are becoming increasingly prevalent in the Baltic Sea, with the potential to have serious impacts on ecosystem services, marine biodiversity and human health. This position will focus on two species: the dinoflagellate Alexandrium pseudogonyaulax, which is currently spreading from west to east in the Baltic Sea, and the haptophyte Prymnesium parvum, which has caused a mass mortality of fish in the Oder River in 2022.

This position is part of a large multi-investigator project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and will focus on investigating the impact of harmful algal blooms on the biodiversity of co-occurring marine communities. The biodiversity of plankton and metazoan communities will be assessed by in situ imaging technologies (Imaging FlowCytobot) and high-throughput sequencing of samples from research cruises and field campaigns (plankton and environmental DNA metabarcoding). Additionally, the occurrence and distribution of resting stages of these HAB species will be assessed from sediment samples.

The project will be conducted in collaboration with the Plankton Ecology project group at Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg (HIFMB)/Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and the Section Ecological Chemistry (https://www.awi.de/en/science/biosciences/ecological-chemistry.html) at AWI.

What will be your tasks?

The candidate will participate on research cruises on the Baltic Sea to collect water, plankton and sediment samples for this project. Afterwards, the PhD student will be responsible for the molecular lab work to process the samples for sequencing and to analyse the metabarcoding data in collaboration with project partners. Bioinformatic and statistical analyses will be performed with command-line based programs such as R and python. The candidate is expected to present the results from these studies in manuscripts, project reports and presentations at international conferences, and prepare a PhD thesis at the end.

What do we expect from you?

• A Master of Science (MSc.) degree in environmental/natural sciences, marine biology or related discipline.
• Very good English language skills and the ability to work in an international interdisciplinary team are essential.
• Willingness to take part in ship-based fieldwork (up to 3 weeks), experience with research cruises is advantageous
• Experience with molecular lab work and molecular genetic analysis.
• Keen interest in programming and command-line based programs.
• Expertise in phytoplankton ecology, marine metazoan taxonomy and marine fauna is ideal, but not a necessity.

What does the IOW offer?

The IOW offers you a varied workplace in the immediate vicinity of the Baltic Sea (Work at sea) with flexible working arrangements, e.g. the possibility of working from home or remotely. A very good infrastructure with modern laboratory and office equipment, including on our own research vessel, form the framework for the best working conditions.

How do we promote equal opportunities ?

Our job offers are aimed at all people regardless of their gender. Research benefits from a diverse working environment, which is why we have signed the Diversity Charter.

IOW aims to specifically promote women in areas where they are underrepresented. For this purpose, the institute has given itself a plan to promote equality (plan for the equal opportunities committee at the IOW) and has repeatedly been awarded the Total E-Quality award for its commitment (website TOTAL E-QUALITY e. V.)  You can find an overview of our measures for equal opportunities and for improving the compatibility of work and family on our website.

We give preference to applications from disabled persons with equal professional and personal suitability. Please mention the disability or equality in your letter of application and enclose a copy of the relevant certificate.

How to apply?

Please send us your application documents with cover letter, CV, copies of your certificates, description of relevant activities and experiences as well as references.

We look forward to receiving your application, quoting the

keyword: Bio 05/2024

by 12.07.2024

to:

bewerbung.biologie(at)io-warnemuende.de  or

Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde

Human Resources Department

Seestraße 15

18119 Rostock

Germany

The interviews are expected to take place on 29.07.2024.

Unfortunately, we cannot cover your application and travel costs.

For further information, please contact:

Ingrid Sassenhagen ingrid.sassenhagen(at)io-warnemuende.de

Anke Kremp anke.kremp(at)io-warnemuende.de

Sylke Wohlrab Sylke.Wohlrab(at)awi.de

Silke Laakmann silke.laakmann(at)hifmb.de

https://www.io-warnemuende.de