[Coral-List] Postdoctoral Research Fellow Position – Coral larval rearing and reef rehabilitation

[James Guest]

 Postdoctoral Research Fellow Position – Coral larval rearing and reef
rehabilitation

I am currently seeking a suitable candidate to fill a postdoctoral research
fellow position at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. The
main role of the incumbent will be to conduct laboratory and field
experiments with sexually reared corals. This is a collaborative project
involving the Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory at NTU, the
Tropical Marine Science Institute at the National University of Singapore
(NUS), Singapore National Parks Board (NParks) and the Centre for Marine
Bio-innovation at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney. The
incumbent will be employed by NTU but will conduct much of the work at the
Tropical Marine Science Institute of NUS at St. Johns Island.

Project Summary

Singapore’s coral reefs are threatened by anthropogenic and natural
perturbations including land reclamation; high sedimentation and turbidity;
and coral bleaching episodes induced by elevated sea temperatures. Reef
rehabilitation by transplantation of corals is seen as a potential method
to rapidly restore coral cover to areas of degraded coral reef. Much of the
research on reef restoration to date has focused on asexual production of
clonal coral fragments and considerable research is needed to assess the
effectiveness of coral transplantation as a viable reef restoration tool.
The aims of the proposed project are to develop a set of best practices to
carry out culture of corals using sexual reproduction and to transplant
these corals for reef rehabilitation.

Project work will involve rearing larvae from both broadcast spawning and
brooding corals ex situ, conducting experiments to examine optimal
conditions for post-settement survival and field experiments to optimize
methods for in situ nursery rearing and coral transplantation techniques.

This position is ideal for a recent PhD graduate with experience and/or
interest in coral reef ecology, larval biology, coral reef restoration and
conducting research that has a direct application to coral reef
conservation.

Candidates must possess the following:

1) A PhD in Marine Biology, Ecology or a related topic.

2) A good publication record and a strong motivation to publish in
international journals.

3) Scuba diving certification from an accredited agency (e.g. PADI, BSAC,
NAUI) with at least 30 logged dives.

4) Experience carrying out scientific diving work (e.g. surveys, setting up
manipulative experiments etc.).

5) Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to work both
independently and within a team.

Previous experience in the following is desirable:

1) Experience in coral reproductive biology and working with coral larvae.

2) Experience with aquaculture of marine invertebrates.

3) Experience conducting manipulative aquarium tank experiments.

4) Good understanding of correct design and statistical analysis of
experiments in biology and ecology.

I am looking for a candidate who can start as soon as possible as the
project has already begun and is funded until April 2014. The position
comes with a salary of SGD4000 per month, a one off settling in allowance
for foreign applicants, an annual performance bonus and health insurance
provided by the University. Singapore enjoys very low income tax rates and
is a safe, vibrant, culturally diverse city nation in the heart of
Southeast Asia.

Applicants must submit a cover letter describing their suitability for the
position (maximum of 2 pages), curriculum vitae, list of publications and
the names, addresses and emails of three references (in PDF format).
Applications
should be sent directly to me by email (jrguest at gmail.com*)*. Closing date
for applications is 15 July 2012. Only those candidates short-listed for an
interview will be contacted.

-- 
*James R. Guest, PhD,*

*Research Fellow, Centre for Marine Bio-innovation, University of New South
Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia*

*Visiting Research Fellow, Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Centre,
Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, N1-B3b-29, Singapore,
639798*

Tel: +65 96630707, Email: jrguest at gmail.com

Google Scholar Profile:
http://scholar.google.com.sg/citations?user=Uai7uAIAAAAJ&hl=en