Okanagan Institute for Biodiversity, Resilience, and Ecosystem Services [BRAES], University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, Kelowna, BC

The Okanagan Institute for Biodiversity, Resilience, and Ecosystem Services at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow in applied connectivity conservation research and planning. This is a full time 12-month position. The position can start as early as June 2020 (preferred), but no later than September 2020.  The successful candidate would preferably reside in Kelowna, BC, or secondarily Ottawa, ON, but due to the ongoing uncertainty associated with Covid-19, we will consider a temporary remote employment arrangement within Canada.

The candidate will work under the joint mentorship of Drs. Jason Pither, Adam Ford, and Lael Parrott at UBC, and in close collaboration with scientists from Environment & Climate Change Canada. The fellow will be encouraged to take a leadership role in facilitating interactions among BRAES research labs and community partners. This position is an excellent opportunity to work with government and other stakeholders to support evidence-based connectivity conservation planning, thereby contributing to Canada meeting its Biodiversity Goals and Targets.

One expected output from these efforts is a co-authored perspectives or synthesis paper, addressing scientific and methodological challenges in connectivity conservation research and planning. Using the team’s contributions to a symposium of the International Association of Landscape Ecology (IALE 2020, Toronto) as a starting point, the post-doctoral fellow will work with symposium contributors to gather their diverse perspectives, synthesize relevant literature, organize workshops, and liaise with additional stakeholders.

The successful candidate will hold a PhD in Ecology or relevant discipline and have excellent oral and written communication skills. The candidate should possess relevant experience and domain knowledge in conservation and connectivity research or planning, be able to engage diverse collaborators, and think critically about relevant methods.

UBC is one of the world’s leading universities. The university has two distinct campuses, one in Vancouver and one in Kelowna. UBC’s Okanagan campus, located in the city of Kelowna, has over 9,500 students in seven faculties with strong graduate programs, and offers excellent opportunities for fostering regional, national, and international collaborations. The campus is situated in the heart of the Okanagan Valley, a region of critical importance to Canada meeting its biodiversity targets.

The Okanagan Institute for Biodiversity, Resilience, and Ecosystem Services (BRAES) is a group of over 30 faculty members and their graduate students working in ecology, biodiversity and conservation, and environmental sustainability on UBC’s Okanagan Campus.  BRAES’ special strength is its multidisciplinary focus, with members from departments of biology, mathematics and statistics, literary and cultural studies, earth and environmental sciences, physical geography, economics and creative arts.  BRAES has a strong record of applied research in conservation ecology.  To learn more about BRAES, visit: braes.ok.ubc.ca

UBC offers an excellent research environment and support for postdoctoral fellows. For more information about UBC resources and opportunities for Postdoctoral Fellows, please visit https://www.postdocs.ubc.ca/ Information about the surrounding community, can be found at: http://www.hr.ubc.ca/worklife-relocation/.

Remuneration:

A salary of $48,000 per year including benefits, plus a stipend of $3,000 to cover direct research expenses.

How to Apply:

To apply for this position, please send application materials to the BRAES Institute coordinator, Carolina Restrepo (carolina.restrepo@ubc.ca) with the subject line “Postdoctoral Position in Landscape Ecology.” All application materials should be submitted by Friday May 29^th, 2020.

Applicants are asked to submit:

(i) a cover letter outlining qualifications for the position;

(ii) a curriculum vitae that includes publication record;

(iii) and the names and contact information of three referees.

Inquiries may be directed to Jason Pither (jason.pither@ubc.ca).

Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, or Indigenous person.

The Canadian Airborne Biodiversity Observatory (CABO) seeks to understand how environmental changes are altering plant biodiversity in Canadian ecosystems, using spectranomics (spectral signatures and images of plant leaves and canopies). CABO is funded by NSERC’s Discovery Frontiers Program and involves researchers from four Canadian universities: Université de Montréal, McGill University, University of British Columbia, and Université de Sherbrooke.

 As part of a team of multidisciplinary researchers who are addressing core research questions, making use of field and imagery data collected across CABO sites in forests, grasslands, wetlands, and tundra, we are looking to fill a two year postdoctoral position at the interface between spectranomics and phylogenetics.

 This postdoctoral position will be held at the Université de Montréal (IRBV), under the supervision of Anne Bruneau and Etienne Laliberté. We aim for a starting date of September 2020, with some flexibility. Further information can be found here.

Dr. Anand is seeking a Postdoctoral Fellow or Research Associate to join the Global Ecological Change and Sustainability lab at the School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph. The candidate will work on Dr. Anand’s project “Modelling and Monitoring Agroecological Mosaic Ecosystems for Optimizing Human-Environment Sustainability.” This project is funded by CFREF Food from Thought.

The candidate will work along the following axes of research:

• Profit mapping and other optimization modelling tools: The candidate will continue a line of work on a) the use of precision agriculture data to identify set-aside lands for biodiversity and b) local optimization methods that identify multiple, alternative landscape patterns that improve biodiversity without reducing land for agricultural activities.
• Incorporated social network and social learning analyses to understand what drives the adoption of sustainable practices by individuals: The candidate will analyze surveys on the implementation of best management practices and the provision of ecosystem services in farms to identify social drivers that guide the adoption of sustainable practices. The candidate will also participate in a collaboration involving social networks and learning with this same objective.

The candidate is expected to:

• Work proactively as an individual and as part of a team;
• Lead the scientific publications that result from their research;
• Contribute to the preparation of grant progress reports and proposals;
• Participate in lab meetings, providing feedback to graduate students in the lab;
• Take part in CFREF Food from Thought meetings and symposia;
• Engage with faculty across campus, farmer groups, and other stakeholders as needed;
• Maintain an open mind to work in an interdisciplinary fashion, merging natural and social sciences to solve complex socio-environmental problems; and,
• Uphold ethical and research standards.

Qualifications:

• PhD degree in Environmental Sciences, Geography, Agriculture, or relevant field.
• Excellent quantitative and analytical skills, including uni- and multivariate statistics. Experience with structural equation modeling or path analysis highly desired.
• Outstanding command of statistical (e.g. R, SAS, SPSS, Python) and Geographic Information Systems software (e.g. ArcMap).
• Track record in quantitative ecology, agroecological systems, environmental monitoring, human-environment modeling, and/or survey design.

Compensation: CAD $50,000/year plus benefits. One-year contract, renewable. Start date: May 2020.

How to apply: Send resume (2 pages max.) and letter of intent indicating relevant experience and interest in the project to Dr. Anand (manand@uoguelph.ca).

More info: Dr. Anand’s research; CFREF Food from Thought; living in Guelph.