PhD position: “Upscaling emergent trait-based mimics for coastal ecosystem restoration”

Are you eager to help advance and upscale the restoration of peatland and coastal ecosystems? As one of the two 4-year PhD positions in the NWO funded project ‘Bioprime: applying biomimicry to produce restoration designs for multiple ecosystems’ at Utrecht University and the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, you will create ecosystem-specific, mass-produceable structures that are ready for large-scale ecosystem restoration. The PhD candidate at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ) within the Department of Coastal Systems on Texel will focus on coastal ecosystems, while the PhD candidate at Utrecht University will focus on peatland ecosystems (peat moss-dominated bogs and reed-dominated fens).  

THE PROJECT

Wetland ecosystems shaped by habitat-forming species, such as peatlands, salt marsh, seagrasses and reef-forming bivalves (i.e. ‘biogenic’) provide important ecosystem services but are rapidly declining worldwide. Supported by for example the UN’s call to action in the ‘Decade on Restoration’ and the ‘EU Nature Restoration Law’, governments, industry and nature organizations increasingly use restoration as a vital tool to halt and reverse ecosystem losses. However, restoration of biogenic ecosystems is failure-prone, because their stability depends on self-facilitation generated by ‘emergent traits’, such as water holding mosses, dense sediment-stabilizing root mats or strong and persistent reef structures. Such traits emerge when habitat formers aggregate, causing self-facilitation to only work beyond certain minimum patch sizes and densities. This creates a ‘chicken-and-egg problem’ when ecosystem restoration is attempted on degraded ecosystems.

In this project, the team will apply a new ‘ecology-meets-engineering’ design approach to create ecosystem-specific, mass-produceable structures ready for large-scale application. Specifically, the team will test a new framework that combines methods from ecology, industrial design, and engineering to optimize and upscale and biodegradable structures that temporarily mimic key emergent traits using industrial-scale additive manufacturing (i.e., 3D-printing) techniques. The resulting mimics should ‘kick-start’ establishment of the target habitat-modifying species, after which the structures are allowed to biodegrade. Within the team, the role of both PhD candidates will be to (1) create and produce mimics for peatlands, salt marsh, seagrasses and reef-forming bivalves ecosystems, (2) test the organism-specific suitability of various prototypes with field tests, and (3) unravel the optimal mimic size for contrasting ecological settings in field experiments. Both PhD candidates will closely work together, and with a post-doc that will analyse patch-size dynamics as well as a post doc that leads upscaling experiments. 

THE CANDIDATE

You must have completed your MSc degree in ecology, biology, geomorphology, environmental, marine science or civil technical or related discipline. Preferably, you will also have:

• Experience with ecological (field) experiments and affinity with design;

• Strong analytical and computational skills for the experimental results using (spatial) statistical methods;

• A keen interest in performing multi-disciplinary work as part of larger research team;

• A passion and capacity to work with scientists, engineers, policymakers, and NGOs;

• Good collaborative skills, excellent written and oral communication in English;

• Ability to drive a car (driving license B) or open to obtain a license.

 Depending on your preference, you can choose to apply for one of two positions or for both. We do request a motivation for your choice.

THE INSTITUTE

NWO-NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research is the Dutch national oceanographic institute and principally performs academically excellent multidisciplinary, fundamental, and frontier applied marine research addressing important scientific and societal questions pertinent to the functioning of the ocean and seas. NIOZ includes the National Marine research Facilities (NMF) department that operates a fleet of research vessels and the national pool of large seagoing equipment, and supports excellence in multidisciplinary marine research, education, and policy development.

We want to be a transparent institute with a healthy working climate and an inclusive culture, where people from diverse backgrounds and gender bring their talents and further develop these talents. We aim for inclusive decision-making processes and expect our leadership to show visible commitment, awareness of bias, and cultural intelligence.

CONDITIONS

• Employment of this full-time position at Royal NIOZ is by NWO-I, for a total duration of 4 years.  You start with an appointment for the duration of 1 year, that, after a positive evaluation in the 9th month (Go-No go), will be extended to the full period of 4 years.

• Salary compliant with scales for PhD candidate (OIOs) CAO-WVOI (Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Research Institutes). 

• An appointment at NIOZ as a PhD candidate means working and learning simultaneously conform the NIOZ PhD policy.  

• 338 annualized holiday hours for a full-time 40-hour work week.

• Pension scheme via ABP, 8% holiday allowance and a year-end bonus of 8.33%. 

• 2nd class public transportation travel is reimbursed 100%.

• Employment benefits plan to exchange a portion of your salary for days off or vice versa, or can be used to purchase a bicycle with tax benefits.

• We offer relocation expenses for employees coming from abroad and support with finding accommodation.

NIOZ is located on the beautiful island of Texel in the World Heritage Wadden Sea. Texel offers sun, wind and beach, and a diverse but moderate level of facilities, including a thriving tourist industry, shops, sports facilities, primary schools and a high school. It is connected to the mainland by a 20-min ferry operating every hour to half-hour. NIOZ is situated next to the ferry terminal.

More information

For additional information about the NIOZ vacancy, please contact Prof. Dr. Ir. Tjisse van der Heide or working@nioz.nl.

Closing date for this vacancy is the 20th of October. The first round of interviews will take place on Friday the 14th of November.