Stilling:

Postdoctoral fellow in ecosystem modelling

Application deadline: January 16, 2019

Institute of Marine Research

The Institute of Marine Research (IMR) is one of the largest research institutes of its kind in Europe, with approximately 1,000 employees and a wide range of research facilities and laboratories of high international standard. Our main activities are research, advisory work and monitoring. IMR owns and operates six research vessels. Our main offices are in Bergen, and we have a department in Tromsø and research stations in Matre, Austevoll and Flødevigen.


In January 2018 IMR was merged with The National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES). The new institute will be a leading supplier of knowledge relating to the sustainable management of the resources in our marine ecosystems and the whole food chain from the sea to the table.

About the position

The Institute of Marine Research (IMR) has an immediate opening for a 2.5-year position as a postdoctoral fellow within ecosystem modelling in the research group Ecosystem Processes. The work place will be at IMR in Bergen, Norway.

Area of research

The postdoctoral position is funded through the Nansen Legacy project (arvenetternansen.com), which aims to make an integrated assessment of climate and ecosystem changes in the Barents Sea. The principal area of research is under Research Foci 4 (The Future Barents Sea), and the use and development of ecosystem models to simulate key ecosystem properties of the present and future living Barents Sea, e.g. productivity, phenology and distribution.

More specific the work will mainly focus around the NORWECOM.E2E model system, which is an NPZD model including full life-cycle individual based models (IBMs) for key species at several trophic levels with separate modules for ocean acidification and the transport and fate of pollutants. The postdoctoral work will include i) development, implementation and validation of a Calanus glacialis IBM within the NORWECOM.E2E model system, and ii) Investigate impact of expected future ocean climate conditions on lower trophic levels. The biophysical modeling community within the Nansen Legacy includes different classes of ecosystem models, thus an important task is also to contribute to the integration of the results from several models. Extensive research collaboration with national and international institutions is expected and encouraged.

The postdoc position is in the Ecosystem Processes research group, working on research, monitoring and management advice on ecosystem structure, function and dynamics, including climate change effects and impacts of human activities, using both empirical and ecosystem modelling approaches. The ecosystem modeling team at IMR counts seven researchers from different disciplines and research groups.

Applicant qualifications

Candidates must have completed a PhD or equivalent degree in marine ecology, oceanography, biology, mathematics or related. The candidate must have documented programming skills, as well as a good scientific publication record, oral and written communication skills and high proficiency in English. Ability to work in a multi-disciplinary team and to work independently and effectively towards objectives is required.

Previous experiences with food web and/or ecosystem models is an advantage, as well as experience in programming in Fortran or C, and data analysis with Matlab, Python or R. Previous work in the fields of marine ecology and fisheries is also an advantage. A working knowledge of the Norwegian language is an advantage, but language training courses in Norwegian will be offered.

We offer:

  • The opportunity to participate in development of state-of-the art ecosystem models in a positive, challenging and creative work environment.
  • Workplace in a national institute with a high level of international contact.
  • Flexible working hours, and a wide range of welfare services.

The Institute offers a governmentally regulated salary as 1352 postdoctoral fellow and an excellent pension scheme through the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, and other welfare benefits (see www.spk.no/en/ for more information).

Additional information

For more information about the vacant position, please contact:

You can also find more information on our web site: www.hi.no.

Please submit your application electronically via the link on this page, enclosing a full CV including a list of publications, copies of relevant recommendations and academic transcripts.

Application deadline: January 16, 2019

The Institute of Marine Research is an Inclusive Workplace enterprise that wishes to ensure diversity in its workforce, and we are an equal opportunity employer. We therefore encourage all qualified candidates to apply for the vacancy. Please note that information about applicants may be made public even if an applicant has requested to be exempted from the list of applicants. Applicants will be notified about this in advance.

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