The aim of the project is to predict effects of the dual threats of climatic warming and the invasion of non-native species on Antarctica's distinctive marine biodiversity, which includes many endemic species. The project is a collaboration involving leaders in the field of polar marine ecology, thermal ecophysiology and theoretical ecology from Radboud University (RU), the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC). Your efforts will both benefit fundamental research and inform management to prevent bioinvasions.
You and the other PhD candidate will be expected to collaborate closely, focusing on the same set of molluscan and crustacean species, but working on different aspects: PhD 1 will quantify thermal tolerance and metabolism, while PhD 2 will measure growth and competitive interactions. Your work will involve field and laboratory studies in remote locations (Southern Chile, Antarctica) as well as lab work in the Netherlands and Cambridge. Furthermore, you will analyse the data, publish the outcomes as lead author in scientific journals and present the main findings at international conferences.
Your teaching load may be up to 10% of your working time.
Would you like to learn more about what it’s like to pursue a PhD at Radboud University? Visit the page about working as a PhD candidate.