DTU Aqua offers a 3-year PhD fellowships in coastal habitat modelling. The fellow will be employed at Section for Coastal Ecology, DTU Aqua (National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark).
Responsibilities and qualifications
We are looking for a candidate with a strong academic background in environmental engineering, marine ecology, geography, statistics or a closely related field preferable with GIS experience.
We expect the candidate to develop, implement and analyse predictive spatial-temporal GIS based models of coastal habitats addressing interactions between combined pressures, habitat distribution and quality and coastal biodiversity.Â
Coastal habitats such as eelgrass meadows, soft sediments, mussel beds and stone reefs play a key role for marine biodiversity and coastal resilience. Pressures due to human activity have induced loss of habitat distribution and quality and although anthropogenic pressures such as eutrophication have been reduced, the current habitat distribution and quality is still not good, and the recovery path for restoring ecosystem structure and function is largely un-known and might be hampered by climate change. Predictive habitat suitability models can be used to detangle the impact of multiple pressures, predict present and future distribution and quality of key habitats and identify priority conservation areas.Â
The overall aim of the project is to provide insights into the role of natural variability and combined anthropogenic pressures for the current distribution and future development of coastal habitats and the implications for coastal biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. Main focus will be on light dependent habitats (e.g. eelgrass and macroalgae) and predictions of changes in habitat suitability to support benthic vegetation as a response to changes in eutrophication level and climate change but also including other pressure factors and natural conditions affecting (re-)colonization of benthic vegetation.      Â
The project will be based on advanced GIS modelling that may include elements of dynamic modelling and involve handling, interpolation and combination of large datasets originating from monitoring, hydrodynamic models and remote sensing. The project is not directly linked to an externally funded project.
You must have a two-year master’s degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master’s degree.
Approval and Enrolment
The scholarship for the PhD degree is subject to academic approval, and the candidate will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes at DTU. For information about our enrolment requirements and the general planning of the PhD study programme, please see the DTU PhD Guide.
