Postdoctoral Research in Phytoplankton Productivity

The department of Coastal Systems at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ) is looking for a highly motivated Postdoctoral Fellow to join our research on phytoplankton productivity in the Wadden Sea. The position is offered for 24 months.

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.

THE DEPARTMENT

The department of COS is one of the research departments of NIOZ. The COS department integrates state-of-the art laboratory, field, and modelling studies in the dynamics of marine species and food webs. COS examines how physical, chemical, and biological processes interact to determine the distribution, composition, and productivity of marine species across the food web, in marine habitats from the coast to pelagic environments.

THE PROJECT

Coastal productivity in shallow environments, such as the Wadden Sea, is under threat from ongoing climate and anthropogenic impacts, which influence ecological processes on large spatial and temporal scales. Extreme events like floods, droughts, and storms are already increasing in frequency and intensity, while ocean currents are expected to change in response to alternations in temperature, rainfall, and wind patterns. These changes will also impact land-ocean freshwater fluxes, potentially enhancing water column stratification, reducing vertical nutrient flux, and, consequently, diminishing coastal productivity. Increased freshwater fluxes could also drive terrestrial nutrient loading, which may lead to harmful algal blooms and eutrophication in nearshore waters, with an associated decrease in dissolved oxygen.
 

NIOZ has been conducting and managing intensive long-term ecological time series on abiotic paraments and the productivity and composition of the phytoplankton community. Since 1974, samples have been collected ca. 40 times per year. Traditionally, primary productivity measurements were made using the C-14 method, at specialized, in-house facilities. Starting in spring 2025, NIOZ will transition to the C-13 method, with both methods run concurrently for one year to ensure comparability.
 

The candidate will be responsible for the primary productivity sampling for both methods in 2025, sample analyses and validation of the results, as well as writing scientific publications during the postdoc period. This work will integrate newly generated data with the existing long-term monitoring program datasets. Furthermore, the candidate will explore causal links between changes in the phytoplankton composition and production, and higher trophic levels. While being embedded at NIOZ, we envision the postdoc being actively involved in the supervision of Master students.

THE CANDIDATE

We seek an enthusiastic and ambitious candidate who has an energetic and collaborative personality. You have a keen interest in marine plankton food web dynamics. You have:

• A PhD’s degree in marine ecology/biology, biochemistry, biogeochemistry, or a closely related discipline.

• Knowledge of phytoplankton ecology.

• Experience with primary production measurements, with focus on the C-14 on C-13 methods.

• Knowledge of the lower trophic level dynamics of the Wadden Sea and/or North Sea.

• Knowledge on how bottom-up processes potentially control the productivity of higher trophic levels is a plus.

• Experience using stable isotope analysis in aquatic environments would be an advantage.

• A demonstrated ability to work on programming software such us R, Phyton or Matlab.

• Track record of scientific publications.

• Strong communication and writing skills in English.

• You are a team player and well organized, but also able to work independently.

NIOZ wants 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 2 years.

• Salary compliant with CAO-WVOI (Collective Labour Agreement  for Dutch Research Institutes) scale 10 or 11 depending on relevant experience.

• The freedom to fulfill your role and space and opportunities for your personal (talent) development with the help of the NIOZ Academy. 

• 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.  

The NIOZ COS department 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. The NIOZ is situated next to the ferry terminal.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about this vacancy, please contact Dr. Eleonora Puccinelli. For additional information on COS, please contact Prof. Myron Peck. For additional information about the procedure, please send an e-mail to working@nioz.nl.

Closing date for applications: January 17th 2025. Online pre-interviews are foreseen for late January 2025, and selected candidates will be invited for a preferably in-person interview at NIOZ on Texel in early February 2025. We aim to start the position as soon as possible in 2025.