PhD researcher - Shaping shoreface sand nourishments to optimise biodiversity

Do you have a passion for biodiversity research in a marine environment? Are you interested in the organisms of the sea floor? Do you like to collaborate with people from different backgrounds to come up with more eco-friendly sand nourishment designs? Then we invite you to apply for a PhD position our team!

Sand nourishment is a widely used coastal management strategy to offset coastal erosion. Currently, 10 million m3 of sand are added to the Dutch coast annually. These volumes will need to be further increased to counteract the expected rates of sea level rise. While adding sand to the shoreface, the local biodiversity will be impacted, however, it also creates opportunities for organisms to colonise the new niches that have become available. This PhD project aims to establish how nourishments can be best designed to minimise the overall diversity loss by optimising new habitat creation for marine benthos.
As a PhD student, you will be responsible for surveying marine benthos but the key focus of activities will be on the analysis and synthesis of data, both self-collected and externally obtained. The outcomes of the project also need to produce recommendations for more eco-friendly sand nourishment designs under different environmental conditions that characterise the Dutch sandy coast.

Specifically, you will assess: 1) The impact of nourishment design and sediment characteristics on the disturbance and recovery rate of key marine benthos, 2) The consequences of contrasting benthos species composition and recovery trajectories for higher trophic levels, 3) The comparability of DNA-derived benthos monitoring with conventional monitoring, 4) The potential of offsetting species loss associated with nourishments by new habitat creation through smart nourishment design.
You will also be involved in the supervision of MSc students who perform their thesis research within the framework of the project.

You will work here
You will be embedded within the Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation group as a member of the team lead by Juul Limpens who focusses on plant-vegetation-climate interactions. You will work closely together with a postdoc focussing on similar questions related to biodiversity on the beach. You will be co-supervised by Reindert Nijland of Molecular Marine Ecology, Michel Riksen of the the Soil Physics and Land management group and Jeroen Wijsman and Marinka van Puijenbroek from Wageningen Marine Research.
The research position is part of the NWO-funded SOURCE program: Sand nOURisment strategies for sustainable Coastal Ecosystems. The SOURCE philosophy is that carefully planned sand nourishments in the present will create the required and desired resilient and dynamic multifunctional coastal landscapes of the future. SOURCE aims to deliver the scientific knowledge, models and design tools to develop and evaluate nourishment strategies in a multi-stakeholder co-creation process.

Requirements:

You are/ you have:

• a PhD candidate who is keen to perform state-of-the-art research on environmental drivers of marine benthic diversity;
• enthusiastic about analysing large datasets to address the design of novel ecosystems;
• interested in the views of stakeholders and scientists from other disciplines and enjoys interacting with them; research findings will need to be published in international academic journals.

You also possess:

• an MSc in ecology, (conservation) biology, nature conservation or related field;
• experience with ecological field studies, particularly with marine benthos and food webs;
• affinity (and ideally experience) with analysis of large datasets;
• ability to work as a team-player;
• good organizational and communication skills;
• fluency in Dutch (or willingness to learn Dutch through an intensive course) is a plus;
• experience in collaborating with partners from a variety of backgrounds is a plus;
• knowledge about coastal geomorphology is a plus.

For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level. Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found here

Salary Benefits:

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• the option to accrue additional compensation / holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed December bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will receive a fully funded PhD position and you will be offered a course program tailored to your needs and the research team.
The gross salary for the first year is € 2.770 - per month rising to € 3.539,- in the fourth year in according to the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.

There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a unique position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the “Best University” in the Netherlands for the 19th consecutive time.

Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees.
Because we expect you to work and live in the Netherlands our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.
Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, we can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example helping your partner to find a job, housing, or schooling. Finally, certain categories of international staff may be eligible for a tax exemption on a part of their salary during the first five years in the Netherlands.

38 hours per week

Droevendaalsesteeg