And now, here’s something we hope you’ll really like

This came in the email:

Postdoctoral Researcher (3 years) in State-Space Modeling of Animal Movement and Population Dynamics in Universities of Turku and Helsinki, Finland

We seek for a statistician/mathematician with experience in ecological modeling or an ecologist with strong quantitative training to join an interdisciplinary research team focusing on dispersal and dynamics of the Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans).

The Postdoctoral Researcher will develop modeling approaches (from individual based models to population level models) to assess the dispersal and population dynamics of the flying squirrel. A key challenge will be the integration of different kinds of data (census data, telemetry data, mark-recapture data, life-history data, and data on environmental covariates such as forest structure) into the modeling framework using Bayesian State-Space models or other such approaches.

The project will be supervised by Dr. Vesa Selonen (a flying squirrel specialist; University of Turku, Section of Ecology, Department of Biology) and prof. Otso Ovaskainen (a mathematical biologist; University of Helsinki, Department of Biosciences). The Postdoctoral Researcher will be hosted by the University of Turku but the work will be partly done at the University of Helsinki.

Salary will be according to the Finnish University salary system. Research staff requirement level will be 5-6 depending on experience of the applicant. Depending on personal work performance, salary will most likely be e.g. 5/3 – 6/7 → 3069 – 4367 €/month. All standard pension benefits and occupational health care are provided for university employees.

To apply, please e-mail your application to Vesa Selonen ([email protected]) by June 30th 2012. The application shall include your CV, list of publications, and a letter of motivation which highlights your previous experience in relevant modeling methods. For more information, please contact Vesa Selonen by e-mail. The project begins on September 1st 2012 and will last for three years.

Flying squirrels!

8 thoughts on “And now, here’s something we hope you’ll really like

  1. My first question is whether the squirrels in question are secret agents with moose companions. Of course, I’m rather old.

  2. I’m an ecologist, and while I don’t know of Selonen (I’m not a flying squirrel expert), Ovaskainen is a very good quantitative ecologist who’s does good work at the interface of models and data. Between that, and the whole flying squirrel angle, this certainly is a good opportunity for someone.

  3. Flying squirrels have quite the refined palate. They like to consume truffles, though not necessarily the kinds that humans find appealing.

  4. Will candidates named “Rocky” be at an advantage or a disadvantage in the screening process?

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