Postdoctoral position (M/F) modelling habitat connectivity using individual-based simulation

CNRS; France; Sur place; EUR 20 000 - 40 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

A research organization in France seeks a post-doctoral researcher to work on ecological modeling using a graph-based software. The role involves preparing datasets, implementing land use maps, and analyzing simulation parameters. Candidates should hold a PhD in ecology with a specialization in movement ecology, and be skilled in geographical and statistical analyses. This is a full-time temporary position with supervision from a team of researchers in a laboratory environment.

Qualifications

• PhD in ecology with specialization in movement ecology is required.
• Good command of geographical information and spatial analysis is appreciated.
• Strong statistical analysis skills are desirable.

Responsabilités

• Mobilize movement databases to extract and prepare datasets.
• Implement a generic land use map in the concerned region.
• Design a protocol to compare simulation results with actual trajectories.
• Explore simulation parameters to find realistic combinations.
• Manage publication projects in international journals based on analyses.

Connaissances

Geographical information systems

Spatial analysis

Statistical analysis

Scientific English

Formation

PhD in ecology

Description du poste

Organisation/Company CNRS Department Théoriser et modéliser pour aménager Research Field Biological sciences Environmental science Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Country France Application Deadline 26 Dec 2025 - 23:59 (UTC) Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 2 Feb 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Graphab is a graph-based software to model the connectivity of ecological habitats. It offers great flexibility of use but remains limited by the principle of least cost used to represent population flows. An advanced version currently under development integrates a simulation module intended to replace cost distances with individual displacement simulations. In this context, the project aims to test the configuration of the simulation module to identify the values that lead to plausible results compared to real movements.

The activities planned to fulfil the missions are as follows:

• mobilizing movement databases, such as Movebank, to extract and prepare datasets (species and regions to be defined)
• implement a generic land use map in the region concerned
• design a protocol to compare the results with the actual trajectories
• explore the simulation parameters and identify the most realistic combinations
• based on the analyses carried out, managing publication projects in international journals

The post-doctoral work will be supervised by Jean-Christophe Foltête, Gilles Vuidel and Paul Savary. It will also benefit from the financial and scientific support of the Graphab group. The main workplace will be the ThéMA laboratory (Mégevand Campus of the UMLP, Besançon).

The candidate must hold a thesis in ecology, with if possible a specialization in movement ecology. A good command of geographical information, spatial and statistical analyses, and scientific English will be appreciated.