The research group of Prof. Martin Zuschin, Department of Paleontology at the University of Vienna, Austria, has an open PhD position for candidates with a strong focus on palaeoecology of marine invertebrates. The successful applicant will be hired for 4 years as University Assistant (“prae doc”). The topics investigated in our group include the molluscan palaeodiversity and faunal gradients in the marine fossil record of Europe, temporal and environmental trends in the intensity of drilling predation, taphonomy and actuopalaeontology of benthic invertebrates, conservation palaeobiology, and the effects of marine anoxia. The PhD student would be working in a young, international team consisting of paleontologists and biologists. The main function of the university assistant will be the participation in research. Additionally we expect teaching, support of students, and help with external fund raising and administration.
We are looking for a person interested in undertaking a project in the field of stratigraphic palaeobiology, in particular using the excellent fossil record of Cenozoic marine molluscs of Europe to address large-scale palaeoecological problems. The Cenozoic history of Europe is characterized by a complex pattern of formation and demise of land barriers and seaways between semi-enclosed basins of the Paratethys and Mediterranean Sea, and their connections with the North Atlantic and Indo-Pacific realms. The quantitative collections of marine molluscs accumulated during our previous projects provide an excellent tool for quantitative studies examining the effects of these palaeogeographic shifts and Cenozoic climate changes on temporal and spatial trends in biodiversity and community structure. The candidate will be able to develop own ideas pertaining to the broad main focus of the project in cooperation with the supervisor and will benefit from the support of leading special! ists in molluscan taxonomy and stratigraphic palaeoecology. Vast collections of standardized samples are already available and will make it possible for the student to test preliminary hypotheses at an early stage of the project. Additional field work is planned.
The official announcement of the position can be found at the jobcenter of the University of Vienna. Applications including a letter of motivation (German or English) should be sent via Job Center to the University of Vienna (http://jobcenter.univie.ac.at) no later than 29.04.2014 (extension possible, please contact martin.zuschin@univie.ac.at) and be referenced to the identification number 4834. The contract is expected to start in June but can be postponed if necessary.