Predoctoral candidates Joan Oró (FI 2025) biological invasions
We are looking for a candidate to apply for a Joan Oró grant (FI 2025) to carry out a doctoral thesis at the University of Barcelona in the framework of the project "Challenges in the prediction of biological invasions: understanding the interaction of the traits of the species and the environment”. This project, funded by the call for Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento 2024 of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, aims to improve the accuracy of risk predictions of biological invasions.
Responsible: Laura Cardador (lcardador@ub.edu)
Participants: Laura Cardador (University of Barcelona), Tim Blackburn (University College London), Luís Reino (CIBIO)
Location: Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona.
Project summary:
Concern about the effects of biological invasions has generated great interest in understanding the factors that contribute to the success of these invasions. Despite the important advances achieved in recent years, accurately predicting which species will become invasive and which regions they may occupy remains a challenge. This difficulty is due, in part, to our limited understanding of the complex interplay between the intrinsic characteristics of species and the environment into which they are introduced. Although there is clear evidence of the importance of these two groups of factors separately, the combined effect of both has been little studied, and many of the current predictive approaches do not consider it. The aim of the current project is to address these knowledge gaps by investigating how species characteristics affect two key assumptions of current predictive models: that species' distributions are in equilibrium with their environment and that the ecological niche is conserved. To achieve these goals, we propose to employ an interdisciplinary approach that combines global bird distribution data with molecular phylogenetic data and modern statistical and ecological analyses.
Requirements/qualifications of the candidates:
Full list on the call website
• Having completed the studies prior to the doctorate between January 1, 2022 and the start date of the contract
•Minimum 300 ECTS credits, university master's degree or an equivalent degree
•Minimum average grade of the file equal to or higher than 6.50
Contact:
If you are interested, send a letter of motivation and a curriculum vitae, with the final grade of your academic record (undergraduate and master's), to Laura Cardador (lcardador@ub.edu). For more information, you can also contact us at the same address.
Deadline: October 24, 2024