Postdoctoral position in Aquatic Ecology

This 2 (to
3) year position is funded by a Swiss National Science Foundation National Research Program 82 (SNSF NRP
82), and will support the first “Swiss National Assessment of Lake Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services”.

Currently Switzerland does not have standard lake biodiversity sampling guidelines or methods, and no federal overview of the status of lake biodiversity or its value to society. In this project we will close this gap by developing standard sampling protocols and lake assessment methods, and we will implement these methods to generate a first baseline assessment of lake biodiversity and ecosystem services.

This position entails taking a leading role in a fieldwork campaign to sample 240 perialpine and alpine lakes in Switzerland over multiple years (April-Nov). You will evaluate sampling protocols, help to select and standardize methods, train groups of junior researchers, support the processing of field samples, and write peer-reviewed journal articles. Additionally, with the support of a project coordinator, you will support science communication and discussions with international, federal and cantonal stakeholders via the organization of work-shops, round-table discussions, and consensus-building processes (together with other project participants).

Your qualifications include a PhD degree in biology, aquatic ecology, limnology or other relevant fields. You have extensive taxonomic knowledge of lake biodiversity, and ideally skills in identifying phytoplankton and macrophytes. You have experience, proven ability and a contagious enthusiasm for conducting field work campaigns, including in challenging conditions (e.g. steep and uneven terrain, cold weather). It would be an asset if you have conducted research involving the use of bioindicators and / or species distribution modeling (or similar) approaches.

You thrive as a member of a team, communicating openly and regularly with team members. You are a hard-working, adaptable, reliable and kind person, with good problem-solving skills. You have demonstrated organizational, time management and multi-tasking abilities. A valid driver’s license is required. An ability to communicate in French or German is beneficial. A boat driving license, scuba diving certification and safety training are all highly valued.

This position will be located in the Department of Aquatic Ecology in the research group of Anita Narwani () at Eawag’s Dübendorf campus, near Zürich, and will work closely with the group of Blake Matthews () at Eawag’s Kastanienbaum campus, near Lucerne.