Organisations
Research Station Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon ART conducts research for an environmental friendly, com-petitive agriculture. We combine ecology, economy and agricultural technology in an integrated research ap-proach and develop scientific-based decision support for farmers, government authorities and society.
The Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies of the University of Zurich performs cutting edge research and student training in the fields of ecology, evolution and environmental sciences.
Two Ph.D. student positions are available; one in the research group “Ecological Farming” at Agroscope and one at the institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies of the University of Zurich.
Position
Soil microbes represent the unseen majority of life on Earth and are essential for the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems as they catalyse unique and indispensable transformations in the biogeochemical cycles of the biosphere. The significance of soil microbial diversity for the functioning of agricultural and natural ecosystems is still poorly understood and soil microbial communities can be considered as a black box. Unraveling what soil microbes are doing in this black box has been identified as one of the major research areas in science, comparable to the search for life on Mars. The significance of microbial diversity for the functioning of agro-ecosystems will be investigated in this project.
Key questions include:
1. Is plant productivity and ecosystem sustainability enhanced by microbial diversity (PhD 1 and 2)?
2. Are there differences in microbial diversity between different agro-ecosystems (PhD 2)?
PhD 1 focuses on the importance of microbial diversity for ecosystem functioning. Experiments are performed under controlled conditions in the greenhouse using already established advanced microcosms with experimen-tal grassland communities. The second PhD characterizes microbial communities in a wide range of field sites using state of the art pyrosequencing techniques. This work will be followed by experiments with experimental plant communities and investigating the role of specific groups of soil microbes.
Selected References:
Petermann et al. 2008, Ecology 89: 2399-2406.
van der Heijden et al. 1998, Nature: 396, 72-75.
van der Heijden et al. 2008, Ecology Letters: 11: 296-310.
Verbruggen et al. 2010, New Phytologist 186: 968-979.
Wagg et al. 2011, Ecology Letters (in press, published on line)
Requirements
We seek enthusiastic students with a Masters in ecology, microbial ecology, soil ecology, molecular ecology or agronomy. For PhD1 experience in soil-, microbial- or plant community ecology is an advantage. For PhD 2, use of molecular biology tools (e.g. pyrosequencing and bio-informatics) is an advantage. Scientific work will be performed in a team consisting of experts from various disciplines (major supervisors are Prof. Bernhard Schmid, University of Zurich and Prof. Marcel van der Heijden, ART). Excellent knowledge of spoken and written English is required. We offer the opportunity to work in a young, multidisciplinary research team addressing a variety of topics in agronomy, ecology and environmental biology. Well equipped state-of-the-art analytical, microbiological, and molecular biology laboratories as well as climate chambers, greenhouses and experimental fields are available.
Conditions
The duration of the positions are three years. The salary is according to the guidelines of the Swiss National Science Foundation. The working place will be at the Institute of Environmental Biology and Environmental Sciences at the University of Zurich (see http://www.ieu.uzh.ch/index.html) (PhD 1) and at the Swiss Federal Research Station Agroscope ART at Zurich-Affoltern, Switzerland (PhD 2).
The projects will start in Autumn/Winter 2011/2012.
Application
Deadline for application: 31 August 2011.
Please mention the keyword “PRODOCPhD” on your letter of application.
Applicants should submit a complete academic record, CV, certificates and a short description of research interests to:
Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon ART, Fachgruppe Personal, Thomas Zehnder, Reckenholzstrasse 191,
8046 Zürich, Switzerland or e-mail to human_resources@art.admin.ch.
For further information please contact:
Prof. Dr. Marcel van der Heijden, Head of the Ecological Farming System Group, phone +41 44 377 72 78, or
e-mail: marcel.vanderheijden@art.admin.ch.(Do not send applications to this e-mail)