[Coral-List] Fully funded PhD position at Qatar University on Rigs-to-Reefs approach

[Radhouane Ben Hamadou]

Hi everyone,
In the framework of a newly funded project “Assessing the contribution of oil platforms and the impact of decommissioning scenarios to marine biodiversity, productivity and connectivity (PlatDecom)” a fully funded PhD student position is available at Qatar University for start in Fall2021 (application to the PhD program due by 1st of March 2021). The research work is aiming to conduct a comparative assessment of the environmental and socio-economic benefits of the Rigs-to-Reef (R2R) decommissioning approach versus a more traditional “complete removal” of the offshore oil platforms. The PhD student will integrate a research team coordinated by R. Ben-Hamadou, from Qatar University, and will involve international collaborators from the academic (California State University, USA; University of Copenhagen, Denmark and Deakin University, Australia), industrial (TOTAL SA, France; and TOTAL Research Center‐Qatar, Qatar) and governmental sectors (Ministry of Municipality and Environment, Qatar).
The scientific work will notably include participation in the following tasks, scheduled in the research carried out by the research consortium:
•             Species taxonomy and population structures of communities associated to the platforms and surrounding natural reefs, using molecular tools (eDNA) and visual census methods
•             Connectivity network between platforms and natural reefs of key habitat-forming and commercially important species, using a combination of population genetics; fish telemetry and biophysical modelling
•             Ecosystem functions and services provided to local and regional human societies and their associated values

This research will, therefore, involve intense periods of fieldwork for collection of data on biodiversity assessment of oil platforms (eDNA, ROV analysis) and of natural reefs (eDNA and visual census); on coral and other marine organisms’ connectivity. He/she will be heavily involved in the data integration and valuation of ecosystem services.

Required qualifications
•             Meet the academic requirements for the Doctoral program in Biological and Environmental Sciences at Qatar University (http://www.qu.edu.qa/students/programs/graduate-programs) 
•             Internationally recognized diving certification (advanced/professional level is preferred)
•             Fluency in English language
Desirable qualifications
•             Previous research experience in one or several the following fields: marine ecology or biology; bio-statistics; marine habitat restoration, molecular ecology (e.g. eDNA); marine organism connectivity using biophysical models and/or population genetics
•             Scientific diving experience
•             Fluency in French and/or Arabic
•             Scientific publications relevant to these research topics

Candidates meeting these requirements are invited to send ASAP their CV, copy of the diploma or transcript for their highest academic qualifications, contacts for 3 references and a motivation letter to: Radhouane Ben-Hamadou (benhamadou at qu.edu.qa). Don’t hesitate in contacting us if you have any question about this opportunity.

The position will be open until an appropriate candidate is found and always before February 25th , 2021

More details are available in the add here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zphb5ih3kp9d44x/NPRP13%20PhD%20announcement_final.pdf?dl=0 

Thanks and best wishes,

Radhouan Ben-Hamadou, (Eng., Ph. D.)
Associate Professor – Marine Sciences
Dept. Biological and Environmental Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
Qatar University 
: 2713 Doha – Qatar: BCR-B108
: 00974-4403-6454 : 00974-4403-4531
http://www.qu.edu.qa/artssciences/ 
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Radhouan_Ben-Hamadou
https://qa.linkedin.com/in/rbenhamadou
http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=WE0JflcAAAAJ&hl