Modeling disease effects animal behavior and population dynamics

Postdoctoral Scientist:
Modeling disease effects on animal behavior and population dynamics - University of Colorado Boulder

The Johnson and Gil Labs at the University of Colorado Boulder seek a quantitative ecologist for a two-year NSF-funded postdoctoral position investigating the emergence and ecological consequences of parasitic infection in coral reef fishes, with a particular focus on understanding how changes in infection and individual behaviors scale up to affect populations and ecosystems.

The postdoc will join a new NSF Biological Oceanography project led by PIs Pieter Johnson and Mike Gil examining Black Spot Syndrome (BSS) in roving herbivorous coral reef fishes. Our goal is to understand (1) where and why this parasitic infection is emerging, (2) how infection alters fish foraging and decision‑making, and (3) how these individual‑level effects propagate to influence fish populations, herbivory, and coral reef ecosystems.

A multiscale quantitative ecology opportunity: A central goal of the position is to connect processes across biological scales: environment & transmission → infection → individual behavior → population dynamics → ecosystem consequences. The project combines broad empirical datasets with behavioral experiments and ecological modeling. Historical museum collections, community‑science observations, and field surveys provide information on changes in infection over a century and throughout the Caribbean.

These data, along with novel field experiments, create opportunities to
1) quantify the spatial and temporal dynamics of disease emergence and identify ecological and environmental predictors of infection risk, and
2) develop theoretical models of the behavioral and ecological consequences of infection in reef fish.

CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating a workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

EBIO's disciplinary strengths include ecology, evolution, genetics, behavior, biology education research and systematics. Our research programs have relevance for global change, conservation biology, the spread of diseases, and revealing fundamental mechanisms underlying the structural and functional adaptations of organisms.

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The postdoc will play a central role in developing and implementing multiple components of the project, including analysis of the spatial and temporal emergence of BSS and its environmental and ecological drivers; development and application of population and simulation models; and integration of behavioral, disease, and demographic data to understand the broader ecological consequences of infection. At the individual-to-ecosystem scale, new empirical data on how infection affects fish movement, foraging, and decision‑making will be incorporated into ecological models.

The Gil Lab and collaborators have an existing large‑scale, spatially explicit agent‑based model of coral reef ecosystems, providing substantial modeling infrastructure on which to build. A particularly exciting challenge on which the postdoc will play a leading role will be to connect…