Ref D670R
Faculty/Services Science, Agriculture & Engineering
Job Type Research
Hours of Work Full time
Salary: Up to £27,319, rising to £35,646
Closing date: 19 March 2010

Based in the School of Marine Science and Technology you are required to carry out research on the effects of coral loss and habitat degradation on fish and invertebrates. You will conduct underpinning ecological research within the FP7-funded FORCE consortium. FORCE partners are an inter-disciplinary team of researchers from Europe and the Caribbean to enhance the scientific basis for managing coral reefs in an era of rapid climate change and unprecedented human pressure on coastal resources. This post will support the broader FORCE consortium by carrying out ecological field work: a) to quantify the effects of habitat structure on biodiversity (reef fish and benthic organisms), and b) to carry out research on the effects of coral loss on fish and invertebrates on reefs.

You should be enthusiastic with a mix of practical and scientific skills. Experience of underwater visual census and similar data collection on coral reefs is essential, alongside a thorough understanding of coral reef fauna, particularly reef fishes are essential, as is a valid SCUBA diving certification with proven scientific diving experience. You will be required to collate and analyse data, have a good scientific writing ability and be able to collaborate and communicate effectively with other bodies, including across the multi-national, interdisciplinary project consortium. You may also be involved in stable isotopes work that will be carried out at Newcastle University, so experience of such techniques would be advantageous. Some additional work assessing recovery of fish populations in no-take marine reserves may also be required, thus you should be able to work flexibly across several areas within the overall project.

The post is available for 36 months. You will be responsible to Prof N Polunin, and will be required to work with both Newcastle University and other FORCE consortium partners at various Caribbean locations, for periods of up to several weeks/months overseas. For further information, please email: Nicholas Polunin n.polunin@ncl.ac.uk.