A PhD studentship in mathematical ecology is available within the Biodiversity Research Group at University College Cork, Ireland.

Predicting the dynamical consequences of biodiversity change in complex systems.

This project will explore the dynamic consequences of species loss from large complex food webs. Food webs can be viewed as complex systems of interacting species and have a number of network properties that can be explored from a mathematical perspective. The aim of the project will be to use mathematical and computational approaches to investigate the importance of species in a food web context. The project will use documented patterns of body size, abundance and food web structure to parameterise models of a series of marine food webs with a special focus on Lough Hyne, south west Ireland. We are also interested in dynamics of food webs in general. We are currently recruiting for a Ph.D in theoretical ecology (Applied Mathematics) to work on the project. The prospective candidate should have a background in mathematics. The applicant should be open to multidisciplinary research and have a full and clean drivers licence. The scholarship will be in the region of €24,000 a year inclusive of fees and research costs.

Interested candidates should send a CV and cover letter to Dr. Mark Emmerson at m.emmerson[ at ]ucc.ie (Tel: 00353 21 490 1951) by Friday 27th September 2007, stating why the position is of interest. Please include the names and email addresses of two academic referees. For more information on the biodiversity research group at UCC see:
http://www.ucc.ie/zeps/pages/staff/emmerson_m.htm

Deadline: 27 September 2007