Research Scientist - Quantitative Benthic Ecology

Research Scientist - Quantitative Benthic Ecology

National Oceanography Centre, Southampton

Permanent

Full time (37 hours per week)

£43,703 - £47,941 (Band
6)

We are the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) - the UK’s leading institution for integrated coastal and deep ocean research. Through our ground‑breaking research, collaboration, and game‑changing innovation we work to gain a deeper understanding of our ocean, helping every living thing on our planet flourish.

We are made up of a dynamic and vibrant community focused on solving challenging long‑term marine science problems, underpinning international and UK public policy, business and societal outcomes.

The ocean has the potential to provide the solutions to so many of the social, economic and environmental challenges we face worldwide. To truly harness the value of the ocean, we put ocean research, science and discovery at the heart of our culture.

Join us in shaping the future of oceanographic research and contribute your unique perspective to our organisation.

This role will support the need to monitor benthic communities, including in MPAs, at long‑term monitoring sites and around marine infrastructure. Such monitoring is increasingly using photography for biodiversity assessment, and standards for the methods involved are developing rapidly. Human‑derived biological data is often being used to train models for automated detection and classification of organisms. Point measurements from imagery are also extrapolated over relevant areas using species distribution models.

This position will straddle quantitative ecology and marine photography methodology to move such marine monitoring forward and include application of species distribution modelling and use of AI for extracting biological data from photographs. It will contribute to new guidance for improving image‑based benthic monitoring across sectors and advising government‑adjacent bodies.

Initially, the role will be focussed on contributing to existing projects, including the NERC‑funded projects AtlantiS, ECOWind-ACCELERATE and PAIDIVER. Activities will include the design and delivery of papers, reports and software; the production and analysis of quantitative datasets from seafloor imagery; participation in research expeditions at sea; presentation of findings at conferences and consulting/industry workshops. The post holder will be supported in developing and contributing to new research projects.

You have a PhD in biological science or a related discipline, and experience of marine ecology, ideally deep‑water benthic ecology. You have strong quantitative ecological assessment skills, including calculating biodiversity metrics and statistical comparisons, complemented by strong programming skills (in Python and/or R). You have experience of image annotation, including annotation software and are confident in using appropriate techniques for extracting biodiversity data from seafloor photographs and/or video.

Experience of spatial statistics, including species distribution modelling, and automated detection and/or classification of organisms in photographs is desirable.

You manage time and resources to deliver high‑quality science to project deadlines, and are able to work collaboratively in multidisciplinary teams. You have excellent academic written communication skills, including writing and publishing papers and preparing research grant applications. You are also well versed in communicating findings with scientists, engineers, stakeholders and the public.

You have experience of working in the marine environment, ideally on research cruises, and be able to travel overseas.

• 30 days contractual annual leave, plus 3.5 extra closure days and bank holidays
• a 10% employer contribution pension scheme (with a 15% NI saving on employee contributions made above 5%, if in the salary sacrifice scheme)
• Death in Service (3 times annual salary) provided by Aviva from day one of employment, plus access to a range of other Aviva wellbeing services
• financial support for relocation
• a salary sacrifice scheme for electric/hybrid vehicles (qualifying period applies)
• acce…