[Germany] 4 PhD Positions at ZMT Bremen

The Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology (ZMT) GmbH in Bremen is a member of the Leibniz Association, which is supported by the German Federal and State Governments. The Coral Reef Ecology Group (CORE) at ZMT has vacancies for 4 PhD students within the following 3 new projects:

1. CANCOR (Carbon and nitrogen fixation in coral reefs - 2 PhD opportunities):
Several key coral reef C-fixing primary producers (e.g. corals, other invertebrates, macro and turf algae) and substrates (e.g. reef sands, dead coral and rocky surfaces), exhibit internal or external association with N-fixing microbes like cyanobacteria. Such association potentially facilitates primary production and growth, but there are no studies that address linkage of C- and N-fixation in coral reef organisms and their reefs and the controlling environmental factors.

Position A: C fixation in coral reefs
Position B: N fixation in coral reefs

2. Coral reef adaptation strategies to carbonate chemistry changes along the Costa Rican Pacific coast (1 PhD opportunity):
This project addresses the issue of ocean acidification caused by anthropogenic emissions of CO_2 in the atmosphere. Many experiments have shown that calcification of scleractinian corals declines with increasing CO_2 concentration. The Costa Rican Pacific coast is partly affected by corrosive waters that well up along the coast and periodically expose reefs to pH values lower than usual and similar to those expected in a high CO_2 world of the future. With this project, we are interested to study the impact of upwelling on the metabolism of calcifying reef organisms and the adaptation of coral reefs to natural changes in seawater chemical composition.

3. BIOCORE (Biogeochemical Interactions Of Coral Reef Ecosystem engineers, 1 PhD opportunity):
Scleractinian corals and reef sponges fulfill key ecosystem engineering functions in tropical coral reef ecosystems, not only due to their high benthic coverage on the exposed (corals) and cryptic (sponges) reef framework compartments, but especially by substantially influencing reef biogeochemical element cycles. Corals continuously release large amounts of energy-rich organic matter into reef waters. However, our knowledge on the utilization of this energy source is largely limited to microbial degradation processes only.

Eligibility

• Applicants should hold a Master or Diploma degrew.
• They should also fluently speak English and possess good scientific writing skills.
• A SCUBA diving license and the proven ability to successfully write scientific publications is an additional asset.

How to Apply?

Send a motivation letter describing why you are the perfect candidate for the specific announcement and how your research concept looks like, a complete CV with list of publications and skills, and names with email addresses and phone numbers of two referees in a single pdf-file to the address below. Only short-listed candidates will be notified.