[Coral-List] PhD vacancy: Nitrogen cycling in coral reefs

[Claudia Pogoreutz]

Dear coral-listers,



please find below the announcement for a PhD vacancy in coral reef
biogeochemistry / ecology / microbiology with the Marine Ecology Group at
the University of Bremen, Germany. All details regarding requirements and
application procedures are provided below. Feel free to pass this
announcement on to potentially interested parties.



Please *do not respond directly* to this email. For specific questions
about the position, feel free to contact Prof. Christian Wild (
christian.wild at uni-bremen.de).



Thank you!



Warm regards,



Claudia



-------------------------------



ANNOUNCEMENT:



PhD vacancy: Nitrogen cycling in coral reefs


The Marine Ecology & Coral Reef Ecology Group at the University of Bremen
has a vacancy for a Ph.D. student to start in May/June 2016 within the
framework of the new project Nitrogen Cycling in Coral Reef Organisms under
Environmental Change (NICE) funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).



Project description:
Nitrogen (N) is one of the limiting nutrients in highly productive coral
reef environments and thus plays a key role in the metabolism of reef
organisms and the functioning of their ecosystems. Recent research revealed
that microbe-mediated N2 fixation is ubiquitous in coral reefs, and that
active N2-fixing prokaryotes are associated with many different reef
organisms. However, the interplay of N2 fixation with other key processes
of the marine N cycle, i.e. nitrification and denitrification, and the
susceptibility of all these processes to key environmental disturbances
(e.g. warming and nutrient enrichment) has not yet been investigated in
coral reefs. NICE will thus quantify all major processes and identify
associated microbial players of the N cycle in hard corals and other common
reef organisms. An interdisciplinary approach combining expertise from
coral physiology, molecular microbial ecology, and biogeochemistry will be
used. The field work for this project will be carried out at the Central
Red Sea in close collaboration with the partners Prof. Dr. Christian
Voolstra, Dr. Benjamin Kürten, Dr. Susana Carvalho, and Prof. Dr. Burton
Jones from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)
in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, and PD Dr. Ulrich Struck from Museum für
Naturkunde, Berlin. The appointment is for a three-year period. Salary will
be according to the German TV-L 13 for a 65 % position.



Requirements:
Applicants should hold a Master degree in marine biology, microbial
ecology, or related fields. They should fluently speak English and possess
good scientific writing skills. Expertise in molecular, physiological, and
biogeochemical tools is an asset.



Application:
To apply, please send a motivation letter and a complete CV with list of
publications and skills along with names of two referees (with email
addresses and phone numbers) in a single pdf-file to  Prof. Christian Wild (
christian.wild at uni-bremen.de) above. Only short-listed candidates will be
notified. Travel expenses for interviews cannot be covered.



Closing Date:
March 15, 2016 or until a qualified candidate is identified.