Job Utrecht University, Faculty of Geosciences - PhD researcher in Biogeosciences (1,0 fte)

The PhD researcher will be employed in the project: “Carbon and nitrogen flows among phytoplankton, bacteria and zooplankton in Lake Taihu, a large shallow eutrophic lake in China”.

Eutrophication of lakes is one of the most severe environmental problems; it usually results in shifts in primary producer, bacterial and zooplankton communities and in extensive and recurrent cyanobacteria blooms. Global warming is expected to intensify cyanobacteria bloom occurrences. In Lake Taihu, the third largest freshwater lake of China, the cyanobacteria Microcystis dominates the phytoplankton community. Although Microcystis can be toxic for humans when drinking the water and textbook knowledge dictates that Microcystis is poor food for zooplankton, Microcystis blooms in Lake Taihu are accompanied with high numbers of small zooplankton suggesting that energy is transferred from the cyanobacteria to zooplankton consumers. This joint Chinese-Dutch project aimst to elucidate and quantify the flows of carbon and nitrogen among phytoplankton, bacteria and zooplankton in Lake Taihu using a combined stable-isotope-biomarker approach. 

The project is a collaborative project of the Earth Sciences Department at Utrecht University and Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. It involves extensive fieldwork in China and laboratory work in Utrecht.

We seek a highly motivated candidate with excellent communication skills, experience in Ecology or Biogeochemistry, holding an MSc in an appropriate field and interest in experimental research on the boundary between Earth Sciences and Biology. Candidates are expected to communicate easily in English, both verbally and in writing. Candidates should be able to work in a team, but also independently.

The successful candidate will be offered a full time PhD position, at first for one year. Contingent on a (yearly) satisfactory performance this may be extended to a total period of four years, with the specific intent that it results in a doctorate within this period. The first evaluation will take place approximately after 6 months of employment. Employment conditions are based on the Collective Labour Agreement of the Dutch Universities. The gross monthly salary starts at € 2,042.- in the first year and increases to € 2,612.- gross per month in the fourth year, and is supplemented by a holiday allowance of 8% per year and a year-end bonus of 8.3%. (salary rates per 1-9-2010). We also offer a pension scheme, a health insurance allowance and flexible employment conditions.

Utrecht University’s Faculty of Geosciences offers education and research concerning the geosphere, biosphere, atmosphere and anthroposphere. With a population of 2,200 students (BSc and MSc) and 575 staff, the faculty is a strong and challenging organisation. The Faculty is organised in four Departments: Earth Sciences, Physical Geography, Innovation & Environmental Sciences, and Human Geography & Urban & Regional Planning.

The Department of Earth Sciences conducts teaching and research across the full range of the solid and environmental Earth sciences, with activities in almost all areas of biogeology, geochemistry, geology, geophysics and hydrogeology. The department hosts an international group of about 100 PhD’s and postdoctoral researchers. It hosts a range of excellent laboratory facilities.

For informal enquiries, contact the project leader Jack Middelburg, e-mail: j.middelburg@geo.uu.nl.

You may also wish to visit the website of the Institute of Earth Sciences Utrecht.