Graduate positions for the 2018/20 academic years have been filled.
Postdoctoral Fellow Positions Available
Fish Community Change in Space and Time
The Mandrak lab, University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC), has an opening for a Postdoctoral Fellow to conduct research on quantifying changes in fish communities along an urban to rural to forest gradient. The research will be conducted at three scales. A global analysis will be conducted at a watershed scale using existing data with emphasis on testing hypotheses related to invasive species as part of a new Global Urban Biological Invasion Consortium. A national analysis will be conducted at the watershed level comparing distributions between 1973 and the present. A regional analysis will be conducted at the site level in southern Ontario using historical data from the 1950s to present. These funded projects will allow the successful applicant to work with global, national and regional datasets, attend collaborative meetings, and pursue interdisciplinary research interests.
Candidates are required to have a sound knowledge of statistical and GIS methods, strong written and oral communication skills, and excellent quantitative and programming skills. The candidate should have completed, or nearly completed, a PhD in ecology or related disciplines.
The successful candidate will be expected to provide leadership in the lab and interact with graduate and undergraduate students. The position is expected to start January 1, 2019 for an initial one-year term with the possibility of renewal, contingent on performance and availability of funds. The salary is $45,000/year, plus a benefits package. Postdoctoral fellows are unionized at the University of Toronto.
Quantitative Fisheries Production
The Mandrak lab has an opening for a Postdoctoral Fellow (PDF) to conduct research on quantifying fisheries production as it relates to conservation offsets. The research will include evaluating existing methods and developing a defensible approach to estimate fisheries production in a newly created wetland. Although this research is related to a specific project, the results with have broader implications for characterizing fish and fish-habitat impacts and offset productivity benefits under Canada’s Fisheries Act. This research is being conducted in collaboration with Ontario Power Generation.
Candidates are required to have strong background in, and a sound knowledge of, fisheries methods, strong written and oral communication skills, and excellent quantitative and programming skills.
The PDF will be based in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough, but the fellow will also be expected to spend time at partner locations. Students will also have access to contributor expertise, facilities, and resources at the University of Toronto, Ontario Power Generation, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and other partners.
The position is expected to start January 1, 2019 for an initial one-year term with the possibility of renewal for up to three years. Candidates must be eligible for MITACS funding (www.mitacs.ca).
The University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC), located on the eastern edge of Toronto, is one of the three campuses of the University of Toronto. The campus is on a forested ravine and is a short commute to the Toronto city centre. UTSC is an exciting place to do research, with a young and active research community and excellent students in Biological Sciences (http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/biosci/). The tri-campus Ecology and Evolutionary Biology program, which also includes the Royal Ontario Museum (http://www.eeb.utoronto.ca/), is an excellent department with more than 50 faculty members (http://www.eeb.utoronto.ca/people/G-faculty.htm). Toronto is Canada’s largest city and is extremely culturally diverse, full of parks and green areas, and hosts numerous cultural, culinary, and music events.
How to Apply
Applicants for both positions are required to send an updated CV, two representative reprints or preprints, a cover letter and/or statement describing the candidate’s past experience and accomplishments, interests (generally and with respect to this position), and the names and e-mails of at least two references. These materials should be combined into a single pdf document and sent to nicholas.mandrak@utoronto.ca. I will review applications beginning November 12, 2018. The selected candidate will need to submit a short proposal to secure a portion of the funding.
