In a project fully funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), the
successful candidate will explore demographic responses of alpine biota
(flowering plants and arthropods) to past climatic oscillations.

Specifically, the following question will be addressed:
- Did high-elevation species of the European Alps respond to Pleistocene
   climate oscillations by postglacial expansion or by postglacial
   contraction?
- Were these range shifts affected by the ecological characteristics of
   these species?
- Are past population size and range changes predictive of changes
   expected under current global climate change?

By comparatively studying species from different plant and animal
lineages, it will be possible to distinguish both (i) general patterns
(i.e., applicable to many species) from idiosyncratic ones (i.e.,
applicable to single or a few species only) and (ii) patterns specific to
certain major groups (e.g., animals vs. plants) from patterns specific
to certain ecological groups (e.g., species from swards vs. screes). By
identifying characteristics affecting the response of high-mountain
species to global warming in a predictable manner, this research can
significantly contribute towards generating hypotheses with respect to
the fate of high-elevation species under current global climate change.

To this end, the demographic histories of 20 plant and 10 animal
species from the European Alps and jointly occurring in all major
alpine habitat types will be inferred based on RADseq-data employing
coalescent-based modelling, and their fit to the postglacial contraction
and the postglacial expansion hypothesis, respectively, will be assessed
using standard model testing approaches. To assess whether population size
changes were accompanied by range size changes, past and current potential
distribution ranges, assessed via species distribution modelling, will
be compared.

The position is open from March 2025, but the start date is more
flexible and can be adjusted depending on the successful candidate=92s
availability.

Requirements:
- MSc degree or equivalent in Biology or a related field
- Very good written and oral English skills
- Experience in molecular and bioinformatic applications
- Ideally field experience in high mountain ecosystems

We offer:
- A three-year PhD (pre-doc) contract with flexible starting time,
   ideally not later than spring 2025, with an annual gross salary (as of
   2025) of 47,520,00 =80 (social and health insurance included)
- Work in a friendly, collaborative, and highly international research
   environment at the Department of Botany and Biodiversity
   (https://botanik.univie.ac.at/), providing outstanding research
   facilities and infrastructure and support from scientific and
   technical staff of the Department
- Great network opportunities with our project collaborators at
   University of Innsbruck (Research Group Molecular Ecology and Research
   Group Biodiversity) and with other groups at UVie and elsewhere (e.g.,
   Gregor Mendel Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Institute
   of Science and Technology Austria)
- Possibility for completion of a PhD study in Biology within
   the Vienna Doctoral School of Ecology and Evolution (VDSEE;
   https://vds-ecology-evolution.univie.ac.at/)

Ideally, apply via the website
https://jobs.univie.ac.at/job/University-assistant-predoctoral/1164774501/
If not possible and/or for any further inquiries, please contact the PI
directly via email: gerald.schneeweiss@univie.ac.at

"Gerald M. Schneeweiss" <gerald.schneeweiss@univie.ac.at>

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