PhD position: Zooplankton dynamics in the North Sea – Deadline 10 November 2024

The departments of Coastal Systems (COS; principal investigator dr. Eleonora Puccinelli) and the Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry (MMB; principal investigator prof. dr. Corina Brussaard) at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ) are looking for a highly motivated PhD student to join our research on zooplankton dynamics and grazing in the North Sea. You will be part of the Monitoring and Research Programme for Nature Enhancement and Species Protection (MONS), and closely collaborate with other PhDs in the program. Specifically, this PhD is part of a collaborative project between NIOZ and IBED-UvA, where the PhD on phytoplankton production and dynamics will be employed at the Univ. of Amsterdam (UvA) and the current PhD on zooplankton dynamics in the North Sea at NIOZ.

THE INSTITUTE

NWO-NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research is the Dutch national oceanographic institute and principally performs academically excellent multidisciplinary, fundamental, and frontier applied marine research addressing important scientific and societal questions pertinent to the functioning of the ocean and seas. NIOZ includes the National Marine research Facilities (NMF) department that operates a fleet of research vessels and the national pool of large seagoing equipment, and supports excellence in multidisciplinary marine research, education, and policy development.

THE DEPARTEMENTS

The departments of COS and MMB are two of the research departments of NIOZ. The COS department integrates state-of-the art laboratory, field, and modelling studies in the dynamics of marine species and food webs. COS examines how physical, chemical, and biological processes interact to determine the distribution, composition, and productivity of marine species across the food web, in marine habitats from the coast to pelagic environments.

The MMB Department studies microbial communities, dynamics and interactions in all types of marine environments, from the North Sea to the deep ocean. The department is equipped with state-of-the-art laboratories and facilities for flow cytometry, microscopy, molecular and biochemical analyses, and has an excellent level of technical support.

THE PROJECT

The North Sea has been subject to a range of local and global anthropogenic impacts, including global warming, anthropogenic nutrient load, fisheries, and development of off-shore windfarms. Yet, information is lacking on the interactive effects of these factors on plankton food web in the North Sea and on the consequent effects on the productivity of the system and food quality, challenging our capacity to design management strategies that allow a sustainable productivity and biodiversity of the North Sea, or predict responses of the marine food web to future environmental changes.

The MONS programme, coordinated by Rijkswaterstaat (Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management), aims to understand how the changing use of the North Sea aligns with its ecological carrying capacity. Several factors, such as the construction of wind farms (affecting light conditions), warming and nutrient supply, may impact the foundation of the food web, which in turn affects the entire ecosystem. To fully grasp these effects, more knowledge is needed on the underlying processes. The insights generated in MONS are used for the implementation of the agreements in the North Sea Treaty.

THE POSITION

One of the pillars of the MONS program is research into the dynamics, community composition and interactions between phytoplankton and their zooplankton consumers. The flow of carbon and nutrients from primary producers to higher trophic levels is top-down controlled by grazing by micro- and mesozooplankton, viral lysis and mixotrophy. As PhD student in the MONS program, you will apply a combination of sea-going research, mesocosms and laboratory experiments, to investigate the spatial and seasonal patterns in zooplankton composition and grazing rates, and examine how environmental change (e.g., temperature, nutrient availability and turbidity) impact zooplankton growth, traits (stoichiometry, stable isotope and fatty acid compositions), community composition, and trophic transfer efficiency.

You will present the data from the field and lab experiments within the departments, at meetings of the MONS program, and at (international) scientific conferences. You will prepare scientific articles and publish your results in international scientific journals. Lastly, you aim to complete the PhD thesis within the official appointment duration of four years.

This PhD position is tightly linked another PhD position of the MONS programme, on phytoplankton dynamics in the North Sea together, the two PhD students will join the research cruises and run experiments, to assess interactions between zooplankton and phytoplankton prey communities. As part of the team of MONS PhDs you are expected to actively exchange ideas and results within the MONS community and specifically the pillar that focuses on the basis of the food web.

You will be supervised by a team of scientists from the NIOZ and the University of Amsterdam (IBED/UvA), Training and courses during the PhD trajectory will be offered by NIOZ, and via the UvA by the Graduate School for Production Ecology & Resource Conservation (PE&RC).

THE CANDIDATE

We seek an enthusiastic and ambitious candidate who has an energetic and collaborative personality. You have a keen interest in marine zooplankton ecology and are eager to perform field work on the North Sea. You have:

• A Master’s degree in marine ecology/biology, biochemistry, biogeochemistry, or a closely related discipline
• Affinity and preferably experience with plankton ecology in the field and/or in the lab
• A demonstrated ability to work on programming software such us R, Phyton or Matlab
• Strong communication and writing skills in English
• You are a team player and well organized, but also able to work independently
• Willingness to spend consecutive days at sea
• Driving license B
• We do not expect that candidates master all techniques from the start, but consider previous experience with one of more of the following techniques as an advantage: lipid, fatty acid and/or stable isotope analyses, flow cytometry, bioassays, and culturing zooplankton

NIOZ wants to be a transparent institute with a healthy working climate and an inclusive culture, where people from diverse backgrounds and gender bring their talents and further develop these talents. We aim for inclusive decision-making processes and expect our leadership to show visible commitment, awareness of bias, and cultural intelligence.

CONDITIONS

• Employment of this full-time position at Royal NIOZ is by NWO-I, for a total duration of 4 years. You start with an appointment for the duration of 1 year, that, after a positive evaluation in the 9^th month (Go-No go), will be extended to the full period of 4 years.
• Salary compliant with scales for PhD candidate (OIOs) (Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Research Institutes).
• An appointment at NIOZ as a PhD candidate means working and learning simultaneously conform the NIOZ PhD policy.
• 338 annualized holiday hours for a full-time 40-hour work week.
• Pension scheme via ABP, 8% holiday allowance and a year-end bonus of 8.33%.
• 2nd class public transportation travel is reimbursed 100%.
• Employment benefits plan to exchange a portion of your salary for days off or vice versa, or can be used to purchase a bicycle with tax benefits.
• We offer relocation expenses for employees coming from abroad and support with finding accommodation.
• You will be registered at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) for your PhD thesis defense.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about this vacancy, please contact Dr. Eleonora Puccinelli and/or Prof. Dr. Corina Brussaard. For additional information about the procedure, please send an e-mail to working@nioz.nl

Closing date for applications: November 10^{th, 2024}. Online pre-interviews are foreseen for November 18^{th, 2024}, and selected candidates will be invited for a preferably in-person interview at NIOZ on Texel on November 25^{th, 2024}. We aim to start the position by 1^st January 2025 or shortly after.