PhD position “Indicators of sustainability in ape habitat”

PhD “Indicators of sustainability in ape habitat”

Human impact in the form of bushmeat hunting, logging, mining and large scale industrial agriculture is rapidly increasing and putting enormous pressure on remaining ape populations and sympatric wildlife. Increasing conservation efforts in- and outside protected areas may lower these pressures. However, there is currently a lack of effective indicators which (1) are easy to derive at low costs, but with high spatio-temporal resolution and (2) are reliable measures of the progress that has been made in improving sustainability of natural resource use across ape habitats.

We are seeking a highly motivated PhD student with excellent quantitative skills and a strong background in sustainability science, ecology, socio-economics or a related field to join our team. The goal of the envisioned research project is to develop a set of indicators which reflect the current, and expected future, pressures on ape habitats, the status of remaining ape populations and sympatric wildlife, and to determine the extent to which sustainability of natural resource use has improved or deteriorated. Various data sources are of potential use for this project including wildlife monitoring and socio-economic databases, remote sensing imagery etc. A particular focus will be on the development of composite indicators reflecting complex social-ecological system functioning, rather than single level indicators. The work will require traveling to ape habitat countries.

The successful candidate will need excellent quantitative, statistical, GIS and programming skills and must be able to deal with large and heterogeneous datasets. Most important for this project will be the ability to think innovatively and to find unconventional solutions. For travelling to ape range countries, proficiency in French is required.

The position is fully funded for four years from April 2014 onwards. The place of work will be at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), located in Leipzig, Germany.

Please send a CV, cover letter and the contact details of two referees to Dr. Hjalmar Kuehl (kuehl@eva.mpg.de). Please reference “PhD sustainability indicators” in the subject line.