PhD position in Systematic Botany at the Bergen University Museum

At the University Museum of Bergen, Department of Natural History, a temporary position as research fellow is open within the field of systematic botany. The position is for a fixed-term period of 4 years, of which 25% is work duty in the herbarium.

About the project/work tasks

The aim of the PhD-project is to improve our understanding of phylogenetic relationships within the species rich Potentilla argentea group. The project will address the role of polyploid and reticulate evolution in the group and clarify species delimitations. The work will include plant collecting in the field, molecular lab work, including the development of new markers, and phylogenetic analysis. The candidate will be a member of the research group Phylogenetic Systematics and Evolution.

Qualifications and personal qualities

• The applicant must hold a master’s degree or equivalent in evolutionary biology with relevance to Systematic Botany. Thesis work must be completed and graded before the application deadline.

• Experience with molecular and phylogenetic methods is necessary.

• Experience with plant morphological studies and taxonomic work is desirable.

• Experience with next generation sequencing methods is an advantage.

• Ability to work independently and in a structured manner, and to cooperate with others is expected.

• Proficiency in both written and oral English is required.

About the research training

As a PhD Candidate, you must participate in an approved educational programme for a PhD degree for a period of 3 years. A final plan for the implementation of the research training must be approved by the faculty within three months after you have commenced in the position. It is a condition that you satisfy the enrolment requirements for the PhD programme at the University of Bergen. The PhD fellow will become a member of the Norwegian-Swedish research school in Biosystematics (http://www.forbio.uio.no).

We can offer

• A good and professionally challenging working environment.

• A modern laboratory with diverse research activities.

• Salary at pay grade 50 upon appointment (Code 1017, NOK 430.500). Further promotions are made according to length of service in the position.

• Enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

• A position in an inclusive workplace (IA enterprise).

• Good welfare benefits.

 Your application must include

• A brief account of the applicant’s research interests and motivation for applying for the position.

• The names and contact information for two referees. One of these must be the main advisor for the master’s thesis or equivalent thesis.

• CV.

• Transcripts and diplomas showing completion of the bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

• Relevant certificates.

• A list of any works of a scientific nature (publication list).

• Any publications in your name.

The application and appendices with certified translations into English or a Scandinavian language must be uploaded at Jobbnorge.

General information:

Detailed information about the position can be obtained by contacting: Associate Professor Jenny Smedmark, phone +47 55 58 33 51 / e-mail jenny.smedmark@uib.no.

The state labour force shall reflect the diversity of Norwegian society to the greatest extent possible. Age and gender balance among employees is therefore a goal. It is also a goal to recruit people with immigrant backgrounds. People with immigrant backgrounds and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply for the position.

We encourage women to apply. If multiple applicants have approximately equivalent qualifications, the rules pertaining to moderate gender quotas shall apply. The University of Bergen applies the principle of public access to information when recruiting staff for academic positions. Information about applicants may be made public even if the applicant has asked not to be named on the list of persons who have applied. The applicant must be notified

if the request to be omitted is not met. The successful applicant must comply with the guidelines that apply to the position at all times.

https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/120496/phd-position-in-systematic-botany-at-university-museum

15 miljoner till Svenska artprojektet från 2016

Nu är det klart att ArtDatabanken vid Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet får 15 miljoner kronor för att kunna satsa på att kartlägga och sprida kunskap om arter. Svenska artprojektets resurser fördelas idag på forskning, museistöd och framtagande av artfakta.

– Självklart är vi mycket glada för att vi tilldelats pengarna. Det betyder att regeringen tycker att det är viktigt att satsa på biologisk mångfald. Nu inväntar vi riktlinjer som ger oss vägledning i hur vi ska använda resurserna, säger Lena Sundin Rådström, chef för Artdatabanken på SLU, som driver Svenska artprojektet.

Delar av de 15 miljonerna kommer som tidigare meddelats att gå till nio forskningsprojekt. Stödet går till att utforska arter inom ekologiskt viktiga grupper som svampar (inklusive lavar), mossor och insekter (växtsteklar och parasitsteklar).

Om Svenska artprojektet
Artdatabanken har sedan år 2002 ett uppdrag från riksdag och regering att kartlägga och sprida information om Sveriges mindre kända arter, och på det sättet förse samhället med kunskapsunderlag och verktyg för miljöövervakning och naturvårdsåtgärder. Svenska artprojektets resurser fördelas idag på taxonomisk forskning, museistöd och framtagande av artfakta.

Ett av Sveriges miljökvalitetsmål
Sverige har 16 nationella miljökvalitetsmål som ska leda vägen till det hållbara samhället. Svenska artprojektet startades som ett svar på behovet att kartlägga och sprida kunskap om den biologiska mångfalden och som en del i arbetet att nå Sveriges miljökvalitetsmål ”Ett rikt växt- och djurliv”.

The Tromsø University Museum, University of Tromsø (UiT), is recruiting a ForBio coordinator/researcher in Biosystematics

This is a four year research position that includes 50% research and 50% coordination of ForBio.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and active researcher willing to organize ForBio courses and meetings and participate in teaching activities. The role of ForBio coordinators is to continue, expand and improve the work that ForBio has done during the last five years, by training the next generation of biosystematist in Scandinavia, strengthen their networks and improve the quality of the scientific outcomes. The full announcement with requirements and specifications is here: http://www.jobbnorge.no/nn-no/ledige-stillingar/stilling/119862/researcher-in-biosystematics-at-tromsoe-university-museum
Application deadline is January 3rd 2016.

The position’s affiliation
This position is attached to the Department of Natural Sciences, which is responsible for developing and maintaining scientific collections of objects (animals, plants, fossils and minerals) as well as public outreach including Tromsø Arctic Alpine Botanical Garden. The department has a permanent staff of 16, of which 9 are in academic positions. The department includes a research group in taxonomy and biodiversity, which focuses on diversity, phylogeography and taxonomy of northern organism using molecular as well as traditional methods. The department has laboratories for modern and ancient DNA analyses, and is currently involved in two large project: ”Ancient DNA of Norwest Europe” and ”Norwegian Barcode of Life”. The latter includes full genome sequencing of the entire Norwegian flora. For more information about the Department of Natural Sciences, visit: https://en.uit.no/om/enhet/tmu

The position’s field of research and other duties
The position is funded the Nordic Research School in Biosystematics, ForBio (http://www.forbio.uio.no/). ForBio is a teaching and research initiative coordinated by the Natural History Museum (University of Oslo), with Bergen Museum (University of Bergen), Tromsø University Museum (UiT The Arctic University of Norway) and the Museum of Natural History and Archaeology (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) as collaborators. ForBio is funded by the Research Council of Norway and the Norwegian Taxonomy Initiative/Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre. Most students at our courses are postgraduate students (PhD or post doc students), but some are graduate students and professionals.

For further information, please contact Prof. Inger Greve Alsos, e-mail inger.g.alsos@uit.no<mailto:inger.g.alsos@uit.no>, tel +47 77 62 07 96, head of Department of Natural Sciences, Karl Frafjord, e-mail karl.frafjord@uit.no<mailto:karl.frafjord@uit.no>, tel + 47 77 64 57 25, or Museum Director Marit Anne Hauan, e-mail marit.hauan@uit.no<mailto:marit.hauan@uit.no>,  tel. + 47 77 64 50 30. For further information about the work for ForBio, contact ForBio leader Hugo de Boer, hugo.deboer@nhm.uio.no<mailto:hugo.deboer@nhm.uio.no>, tel +47 98 12 60 30.

Please forward to relevant candidates!

Best, Hugo

Trevliga radioinslag om taxonomisk forskning

De senaste dagarna har två projekt som har stöd av Svenska artprojektet nämnts i Vetenskapsradion – Mathias Jaschhofs forskning om gallmyggor och Karen Hansens skålsvampsforskning. Lyssna gärna på de trevliga inslagen med hjälp av länkarna nedan!

1. Skålsvampar (Karen Hansen), 2. Gallmyggor (Mathias Jashhof).

Vänliga hälsningar
Rikard

ForBio and UiB course: Introduction to phylogenetic methods

Time and place: Nov 2 – Nov 6, 2015, University of Bergen

ForBio opens for participation of up to 8 students from Nordic universities in the regular University of Bergen (UiB) course Phylogenetic methods (http://www.uib.no/en/course/BIO332).

The course is aimed primarily at students who will do phylogenetic computation in their thesis work, but who have no hands-on experience with some of the more frequently used software applications. Introductory lectures will cover topics such as properties of data and trees, models of evolutionary change, phylogenetic signal, model testing, and hypothesis testing. The students will learn how to prepare their data, explore the properties of the data, how to use distance, parsimony, likelihood and Bayesian methods in computation in packages such as PAUP*, MrBayes, BEAST, RaxML, and how to present results with graphical applications.

Click here for more information about the course.

Application deadline is October 5th, 2015, and applications should be sent directly by email to: endre.willassen@uib.no. The application must indicate the academic background of the applicant and the topic and the present state of progress in the thesis work. Please add a recommendation from your supervisor.

Contact Endre Willassen (endre.willassen@uib.no) for questions about the course or Hugo de Boer (hugo.deboer@nhm.uio.no) for more information about ForBio.

Systematics/biodiversity symposium in Oslo November 5th

First announcement

Zoologica Scripta, and the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters, invite you to a one-day symposium on the theme:

”Systematics and Biodiversity Research in the Era of Genomics”

In Oslo on November 5th

Speakers (confirmed)

Casey Dunn, Brown University
Scott Edwards, Harvard University
Gonzalo Giribet, Harvard University,
Mark Blaxter, University of Edinburgh
Thomas Gilbert, University of Copenhagen
Barbara Gravendeel, Naturalis Biodiversity Center
Matthew Webster, University of Uppsala
Alexander Suh, University of Uppsala

more information to follow
_____________________________________________________

Per Sundberg

Zoologica Scripta
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291463-6409

per.sundberg@gu.se

ForBio workshop: Bayesian inference using BEAST

Time and place: Nov 2, 2015 09:00 AM Nov 6, 2015 05:00 PM, Natural History Museum, University of Oslo

The workshop aims to help those that have some experience of Bayesian model-based phylogenetics. The course focuses on issues relating to identification of priors, and the impact of different priors on posterior results.

Maximum number of participants is 26. If there are more than 26 applicants priority will be given to ForBio applicants best fulfilling the prerequisites given.

Application deadline is September 18, 2015.

For more information about the course: http://www.forbio.uio.no/events/courses/2015/beast_workshop_2015.pdf

To apply: https://nettskjema.uio.no/answer/67500.html

Contact Hugo de Boer (hugo.deboer@nhm.uio.no) or Stephan Nylinder (stephan.nylinder@nrm.se) for more information.

Assistant Professor Position in Integrative Genomics

The Department of Biology (http://biology.louisiana.edu) at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette seeks to fill a tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor level to complement our strengths in evolutionary, molecular, and coastal biology.  We are searching for an outstanding scientist using genomics, bioinformatics and molecular biology tools to address important questions in evolution, behavior, physiology, or environmental biology.

Minimum qualifications are a Ph.D. in a relevant field and postdoctoral experience. Successful applicants will be expected to establish a vigorous, externally-funded research program, provide instruction to undergraduates and participate in our Ph.D. program in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology. Cover letter, curriculum vitae, statement of research interests, statement of teaching interests, and a list of three references (including postal and email addresses) should be emailed as a single pdf attachment to: genomicssearch.search@louisiana.edu. Please refer to Integrative Genomics search in the subject line. To ensure full consideration, applications should be received by October 16, 2015.

UL Lafayette is an EEO/AA employer.

ForBio course: Introduction to Bioinformatics for Biosystematics

ForBio course: Introduction to Bioinformatics for Biosystematics

Time and place: Oct 5, 2015 Oct 9, 2015, Natural History Museum, Oslo, Norway

Basic programming skills are essential for handling large datasets and performing complex analyses in biosystematics. This course aims to provide the students with tools to solve practical problems often encountered in biosystematic research. Course topics include Python, R, and SQL. An introduction is arranged October 3-4 (Saturday and Sunday) for participants without previous experience of GNU/Linux and Bash.

Click here for more information about the course.

Click here to apply now.

Application deadline: September 11, 2015.

Symposium on Biodiversity and DNA barcoding in Trondheim, November 11-12, 2015

Symposium banner

The Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre and the Norwegian Barcode of Life Network (NorBOL) have the pleasure of inviting you to a symposium on Biodiversity and DNA barcoding in Trondheim November 11-12, 2015. The goal of this conference is to communicate new knowledge on Norwegian species and show how DNA barcoding contributes to our understanding of species diversity, biology and ecology. We think the symposium will be an attractive venue for researchers, student and managers of biodiversity and are pleased to have distinguished speakers from Canada, UK, Finland, Sweden and Norway. Among the confirmed participants are Paul Hebert, Sujeevan Ratnasingham, Natasha de Vere and Tomas Roslin. For more information on the conference, speakers and registration, please visit the symposium website: Biodiversity and DNA barcoding. Welcome!

The organizing committee
Ingrid Salvesen
Ingrid Ertshus Mathisen
Aina Mærk Aspaas
Torbjørn Ekrem