PhD Student; m​/w​/d

PhD Student 100% (m/w/d)

The Aquatic Ecology Department (Eco) has a vacancy for a PhD student in Biodiversity-inspired lake modeling, linking processes from cells to ecosystems.

Climate change is causing lake surface waters to warm, which due to increased thermal stratification often also reduces nutrient input from deeper waters. Projecting how these concurrent changes in temperature and nutrients affect lake ecosystems requires a mechanistic understanding of the impacts of combined changes in temperature and resource availability on phytoplankton physiology, biodiversity and functioning. In this project we will upgrade mechanistic lake models to incorporate greater planktonic biodiversity to:[para] a) predict diversity and community composition responses to combined gradients of warming and changes in resource availability (light, nitrogen and phosphorus), and b) improve predictions of ecosystem properties and functioning by including the impacts of phytoplankton diversity and composition.

This project is an international collaboration between research groups at Eawag (Narwani and Bouffard), Wageningen University (Velthuis), NIOO-KNAW (Van de Waal) and the University of Rhode Island (Inomura). It is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation Lead Agency process.

We are looking for a highly motivated doctoral student who is interested in working at the interface between phytoplankton trait data and mechanistic lake modeling. The candidate’s work will largely focus on running controlled lab experiments, and will also involve field work to sample Swiss lakes. Data collection will be used to inform, parameterize and validate lake model predictions.

You have completed a master’s degree in biology, biodiversity, aquatic ecology, evolutionary biology, limnology or oceanography, environmental science or other related fields. We highly value an understanding of lake ecosystems, phytoplankton physiology, and experience running controlled and highly replicated laboratory experiments. Training in molecular biology is valued. Experience with field work is an asset. You have developed computational skills and are comfortable in at least one coding language (R, Python, etc.).

You enjoy dynamic teamwork and are interested in working in an integrated fashion with other researchers.

The position will be based at Eawag in Dübendorf, Zurich, in the Biodiversity & Ecosystem Functioning group. The latest starting date would be 1 December 2026, and the position is fully funded for 4 years.