Predoctoral position in Biology – REDUCE

11 Apr 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Universitat de Barcelona

Department

OPIR- International Research Projects office

Research Field

Biological sciences
Environmental science

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Spain

Application Deadline

10 May 2024 - 23:59 (Europe/Madrid)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

37,5

Offer Starting Date

1 Jun 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

HE

Reference Number

Nº GA 101135583

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

Fisheries can have detrimental impacts on seabirds due to their interactions with fishing vessels. Overfishing and fishery discards pose significant challenges for seabird populations. Seabirds often fall victim to unintentional bycatch as they become entangled in fishing gear, leading to devastating consequences for their populations. In fact, seabirds are among the most endangered bird groups, with nearly half of all species experiencing population declines. Therefore, understanding seabird-fishery interactions is crucial for devising effective conservation strategies.

Innovative technologies, such as light-level geolocators, GPS tracking, bird-borne marine radar detectors, accelerometers, and combined AIS or VMS tracking systems for vessels, offer new opportunities to study seabird-fishery interactions on a broad spatiotemporal scale. This PhD aims to identify key areas of interaction, map illegal fishing activities, and inform targeted conservation measures. Recommendations from this research can guide policymakers in implementing regulations to mitigate bycatch, reduce discards, and protect seabird populations. Ultimately, our findings aim to contribute to the evaluation of fisheries management policies and promote sustainable fishing practices.

Specific objectives of this PhD include:

(1) Investigating interactions between shearwaters and fishing vessels across large spatial and temporal scales.

(2) Identifying potential illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities.

(3) Comparing different techniques for detecting seabird-fishery encounters, including light-level geolocators, bird-borne radar detectors combined with raw or gridded AIS data, or seabird movement data alone.

Gross salary per year: 17.823,96 €

Requirements

Research Field

Biological sciences

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field

Environmental science

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

Hold a BSc/MSc in Biology or related fields and fulfil the requirements to be admitted into the Biodiversity PhD program at the Universitat de Barcelona.

For more information: https://www.ub.edu/escoladoctorat/en/access-and-admission/access-pathways-and-requirements

• Outstanding academic records
• Proficiency in R programming language
• Proficiency in curating and analyzing large datasets
• Proficiency in analyzing spatial data
• Strong statistical background
• Experience in fieldwork

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Excellent

Research Field

Biological sciencesEnvironmental science

Years of Research Experience

1 - 4

Additional Information
Benefits

A full-time work contract (37.5 hrs/week). The researcher will have the possibility to participate in teaching activities for professional development (not obligatory, though).

Eligibility criteria

A specific committee will evaluate the applications using the following criteria:

• Grade point average of the academic transcripts from the applicant's bachelor's or master's degree studies (or 1st and 2nd cycle): up to 5 points out of a total of 10.
• Curricular merits: up to 1 point out of a total of 10 in accordance with the specific criteria listed in Annex 1.
• Suitability for the tasks to be performed within the framework of the research project or research support position to which the successful candidate will be attached: up to 4 points out of a total of 10.

Selection process

The specific committee will agree upon an award proposal and draw up a prioritized shortlist of candidates who have achieved a minimum of five points or declare the call for applications null and void if none of the applicants reach the minimum score.

The award proposal will be published in the UB's electronic office and must include the total scores of the candidates that have received a total of at least five points.

Application Process:

According to the specific requirements and selection criteria, the candidates are expected to provide at least the following documents:

• Full CV
• BSc and MSc academic transcripts

 

IMPORTANT:

• For studies completed abroad , applicants must submit their equivalent grade point average as per the grading scale for Spanish universities:

Equivalence of average grades of university studies carried out in foreign centers - (universidades.gob.es)

Additional comments

The candidate proposed for hiring must accept the job offer within 10 working days from the date of notification of the selection.

Be aware that the starting date sets in this offer is an estimate date. The official starting date will depend on the time necessary for administration to prepare the labour contract and present the necessary documents for the selected candidate to be hired.

Priority will be given to people with disabilities (Law 89/2015 of June 2, reserve of quota 2% in favour of people with disabilities in companies of 50 or more people).

For additional information regards this offer, please, contact Dr. Jacob González-Solís: [email protected]

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Universitat de Barcelona

Country

Spain

State/Province

Barcelona

City

Barcelona

Postal Code

08028

Street

Diagonal, 643

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

http://www.ub.edu/caiac/solBeca?idConvocatoria=50128

Contact

State/Province

Barcelona

City

Barcelona

Website

http://www.ub.edu/opir

Street

Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 585.

Postal Code

08007

E-Mail

[email protected]

STATUS: EXPIRED