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Saturday, January 02, 2010

PhD scholarship, Benthic Ecology

More than mud: how will disruption of soft-sediments threaten coastal biodiversity? (ref 2010090)


Based in the Coastal Ecology Group, Department of Biological Sciences and Climate Risk CORE, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.

A PhD student is sought to contribute to an Australian Research Council funded project investigating how climate change and human activity are acting upon the total supply and mix of detrital resources that fuel bottom-dwelling organisms and the productive fisheries that they support. They will use large-scale field experiments to determine how disturbance of estuarine ecosystems influences detrital pathways of nutrition. The results they generate will be used to forecast future impacts of changed detrital resources under different management scenarios. Outcomes of this research will help prevent economic and ecological losses caused by eutrophication of Australia's estuaries.

Applicants should have a strong academic record with Honours (First Class) or equivalent in a relevant discipline such as ecology, invertebrate biology or marine science. They must be able to work within a team and should have high level written and oral communication skills. Experience in designing and analysing multi-factor ecological field experiments is desirable, as is experience and interest in the taxonomy of marine and estuarine invertebrates. Domestic and international applicants will be considered.

Prospective applicants should, in the first instance, submit a cover letter detailing relevant experience, a CV and an academic transcript to the principal supervisor: Dr Melanie Bishop, email: mbishop@bio.mq.edu.au, telephone: +61 2 9850 4075.

The 2010 MQRES full-time stipend rate is $22,500 pa tax exempt for 3.5 years.

Application forms and conditions of award are available at Scholarship Forms and Conditions. The completed application and associated referee reports are to be sent to the Higher Degree Research Office. Macquarie University will advise the successful applicants of entitlements at the time of scholarship offer.

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