Postdoctoral Scholar

Postdoctoral Scholar-Fixed Term

The Michigan Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University seeks a postdoctoral scholar to work on a project to analyze bird – habitat relationships across Michigan. The postdoctoral scholar will work on the project, led by Dr. Brett DeGregorio and Dr. Steven Gray, funded by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and will work closely with colleagues from the agency.

The ultimate goal and desired deliverables include an interactive, web-based mapping app that displays the distribution of all bird species occurring in Michigan and their likelihood of occurrence at any given location based on remotely sensed habitat features and available eBird status and trends data. Candidate will be responsible for analyzing avian-habitat relationships and developing the interactive web-based mapping tool to display results.

Project will consist of two components: the analysis of the avian-habitat associations and then the construction and development of the mapping tool.

Candidates must have extensive experience working with large-scale habitat or avian data sets. Familiarity using eBird data and satellite imagery is preferred. Candidates must have extensive familiarity with GIS-programs (ESRI-preferred) and familiarity with landcover and habitat data within GIS. Candidates should have familiarity with coding languages including R and Python.

PhD (must have PhD or Satisfactory completion of the Ph.D. dissertation defense/orals with minimal revisions needed that are expected to be completed within three to six months) in ornithology or a related field. Experience analyzing avian habitat use and ecology. Extensive experience and background working with birds and GIS.

Experience with eBird data analysis. Experience with ArcGIS or other GIS program. Ability to code in more than 1 programming language (R, python, java, etc).

CV and contact information for 3 references.