Are you interested in how humans have altered global patterns of animal behaviour? As a PhD candidate, you will explore how animals modify their movement patterns in response to multiple human disturbances. You will contribute to our understanding of the impacts and consequences of human activities on animal behaviour and populations.

Animal movement is an important process determining the fate of individuals and shaping the structure and dynamics of populations and ecosystem processes. With human activities modifying landscapes globally, the way in which animals interact with their environment is also changing. Previous work has found that mammals living in human-modified landscapes may alter movement and energetic expenditure, with potential consequences for populations and ecosystem processes. It is therefore important to quantify how animals modify their movement in response to humans.

The aim of this PhD project is to examine the differences in movement behaviour between mammal species, how human pressures impact animal movement and the consequences thereof for animal populations. This will involve the analysis of empirical animal movement data, remote sensing data and species traits in order to explore mammal movement patterns from individuals to species. Understanding this is important for building a solid knowledge foundation of how humans impact animal behaviour, and also provides vital information for examining the consequences of these impacts for animal populations and ecosystems.

Besides your research, you will have a standard teaching load of 10%. Radboud University will give you the opportunity to extend the 4-year PhD period by another year to be more substantially engaged in teaching during the whole period, leading up to the acquisition of a university teaching certificate (BKO).

• Master's degree in ecology/macroecology or a relevant related field.
• Strong quantitative background in statistical and/or process-based ecological modelling.
• Experience with managing and analysing large spatial datasets.
• Programming skills in R and/or Python or the willingness and ability to quickly acquire these skills.
• Affinity for working in a multidisciplinary, international team.
• Good communication skills in both written and spoken English.

Fixed-term contract: you will be appointed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4 year contract) or 3.5 years (5 year contract).

• Employment: 0.8 (5 year contract) -1.0 FTE (4 year contract).
• The gross starting salary amounts to €2,434 per month based on a 38-hour working week, and will increase to €3,111 from the fourth year onwards (salary scale P).
• In addition to the salary: an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• Duration of the contract: you will be appointed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4 year contract) or 3.5 years (5 year contract).
• Your education task may be up to 10% of your appointment.
• The intended start date is 1 January 2022.
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Care Services. Our Dual Career and Family Care Officer can assist you with family-related support, help your partner or spouse prepare for the local labour market, provide customized support in their search for employment  and help your family settle in Nijmegen.

Additional employment conditions
Work and science require good employment practices. This is reflected in Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions. You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself, for example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports subscription. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You are given plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.

The mission of the Environmental Science research cluster at Radboud University is to provide high-quality scientific knowledge that can be used to help to move towards a more sustainable society. To achieve this, we aim to understand, project and address the impact of anthropogenic pressures on ecosystems and humans from the landscape to the global scale.

Environmental Science is part of the Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences (RIBES) at the Faculty of Science. RIBES, consisting of three research clusters (Ecology and Physiology, Microbiology, and Environmental Science), has the aim to understand the response of the natural environment to human impact and investigates stress and adaptation processes in severely affected ecosystems. This fundamental research is cross-linked with innovative applications in both industry and society with a focus on mitigating ecosystem degradation and climate change and finding solutions to restore the natural environment.