Modeling disease effects on animal behavior and population dynamics

University of Colorado Boulder; Boulder (CO); Presencial; USD 54.000 - 66.000; Jornada completa

Ventajas ofrecidas por este puesto de trabajo

Medical,dental, and retirement plans

Generous paid time off

Tuition assistance for you and your-de

Eco Pass for local transit

Descripción de la vacante

The University of Colorado Boulder invites applications for a two-year postdoctoral Scientist position in quantitative ecology to model how disease and behavior influence roving coral reef fishes and their populations. The project combines fieldwork, agent-based and population models, and integration of empirical and theoretical approaches.

The selected scientist will be mentored by the Johnson Lab and Gil Lab, with joint responsibilities across labs, and contribute to data synthesis, manuscript

Formación

• PhD in ecology, evolutionary biology, applied mathematics, quantitative biology, fisheries science, or a related field.
• Strong quantitative and computational skills.
• Experience in dynamical population models or demographic modeling is preferred.

Responsabilidades

• Develop and implement multiple components of the project, including analysis of disease emergence and environmental drivers; development and application of population and simulation models; integration of behavioral, disease, and demographic data.
• Incorporate empirical data on how infection affects movement and foraging into ecological models; connect individual-based dynamics to population-level relationships.
• Collaborate with Johnson and Gil labs, mentor graduate and undergraduate researchers, and contribute to manuscript development and data synthesis.

Conocimientos

Quantitative skills

Dynamical population models

Agent-based modeling

Educación

PhD in ecology or related field

Strong quantitative and computational skills

Descripción del empleo

Job Summary

Postdoctoral Scientist: Modeling disease effects on animal behaviorand population dynamics - University of Colorado Boulder

The Johnson and Gil Labs at the University of Colorado Boulder seeka quantitative ecologist for a two-year NSF-funded postdoctoralposition investigating the emergence and ecological consequences ofparasitic infection in coral reef fishes, with a particular focuson understanding how changes in infection and individual behaviorscale up to affect populations and ecosystems.

The postdoc will join a new NSF Biological Oceanography project ledby PIs Pieter Johnson and Mike Gil examining Black Spot Syndrome(BSS) in roving herbivorous coral reef fishes. Our goal is tounderstand (1) where and why this parasitic infection is emerging,(2) how infection alters fish foraging and decision-making, and (3)how these individual-level effects propagate to influence fishpopulations, herbivory, and coral reef ecosystems.

A multiscale quantitative ecology opportunity:

A central goal of the position is to connect processes acrossbiological scales: environment & transmission → infection →individual behavior → population dynamics → ecosystem consequences.The project combines broad empirical datasets with behavioralexperiments and ecological modeling. Historical museum collections,community-science observations, and field surveys provideinformation on changes in infection over a century and throughoutthe Caribbean. These data, along with novel field experiments,create opportunities to 1) quantify the spatial and temporaldynamics of disease emergence and identify ecological andenvironmental predictors of infection risk, and 2) developtheoretical models of the behavioral and ecological consequences ofinfection in reef fish.

CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with allapplicable federal, state, and local laws governingnondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating aworkplace where all individuals are treated with respect anddignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds toapply, including protected veterans and individuals withdisabilities.

Who We Are

EBIO's disciplinary strengths include ecology, evolution,genetics, behavior, biology education research and systematics. Ourresearch programs have relevance for global change, conservationbiology, the spread of diseases, and revealing fundamentalmechanisms underlying the structural and functional adaptations oforganisms.

Research Areas:

Our faculty specialize in many fields ofEcology and Evolutionary Biology. Interested in learning more?Visit the various research interests of our faculty.

In the Field:

Our faculty, students and researchers travelthe world to conduct research in ecology and evolution. Learn moreabout their experiences and stories in our In the Fieldarticles.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

The postdoc will play a central role in developing and implementingmultiple components of the project, including analysis of thespatial and temporal emergence of BSS and its environmental andecological drivers; development and application of population andsimulation models; and integration of behavioral, disease, anddemographic data to understand the broader ecological consequencesof infection. At the individual-to-ecosystem scale, new empiricaldata on how infection affects fish movement, foraging, anddecision-making will be incorporated into ecological models. TheGil Lab and collaborators have an existing large-scale, spatiallyexplicit agent-based model of coral reef ecosystems, providingsubstantial modeling infrastructure on which to build. Aparticularly exciting challenge on which the postdoc will play aleading role will be to connect these individual-based dynamics tomore general demographic models. When can individual behavior,infection, and spatial interactions be captured by simplerpopulation-level relationships? Which behavioral and diseasemechanisms actually matter for population trajectories? And whenand how does simplifying individual-level complexity cause us tomiss important ecological dynamics? Thus, we seek candidates with astrong background in dynamical population modeling who areinterested in disease / behavioral ecology and linkingindividual-level mechanisms to population and ecosystem dynamics.Experience with agent-based/individual-based models is desirablebut not required.

This is a collaborative empirical and theoretical project. Theselected scientist will be jointly mentored by the Johnson Lab(disease ecology, parasitology, host–parasite interactions, andlarge-scale disease patterns) and Gil Lab (behavioral ecology,animal decision-making, theoretical ecology, and coral reefecology), with the position formally split approximately 50:50between the two labs.

The project also includes summer fieldwork in Curaçao, giving thepostdoc opportunities to participate directly in collecting theempirical data that inform and test these analyses and models. Thepostdoc will contribute to data synthesis and analysis, manuscriptdevelopment, mentoring of graduate and undergraduate researchers,and the broader intellectual development of the project. There willalso be considerable scope for the successful candidate to developcomplementary questions that build on their own interests.

What You Should Know

• This is a two-year position that will be based at theUniversity of Colorado Boulder. The desired start date is January2027, though later start dates will be considered on a case-by-casebasis. Salary will be commensurate with experience and Universityof Colorado Boulder guidelines.

What We Can Offer

This is a two-year, full-time position with full benefits. The salary for this role is $60K annually.

Benefits

• medical,dental, and retirement plans
• generous paid time off
• tuitionassistance for you and your dependents
• an ECO Pass for localtransit

As one of Boulder County’s largest employers, CU Boulderoffers an inspiring academic community and access to world-classoutdoor recreation. In fact, CU Boulder has been named one of Forbes' America's BestLarge Employers , ranking #4 among large employers in Coloradoand #28 among universities nationwide.

Explore additional perks andprograms through the CU Advantage program.

Be Statements

Be ambitious. Be pioneering. Be Boulder.

What We Require

• Applicants should have a PhD in ecology, evolutionary biology,applied mathematics, quantitative biology, fisheries science, or arelated field, along with strong quantitative and computationalskills.
• We are particularly interested in candidates with experience indynamical population models, structured population models,demographic modeling, or related theoretical approaches, who wantto apply their expertise to new questions at the intersection ofdisease, behavior, population ecology, and coral reef ecology.Additional experience with disease ecology, agent-based modeling,behavioral ecology, movement ecology, marine ecology, or analysisof large ecological datasets would be valuable, but we do notexpect candidates to bring expertise in all of these areas.