Postdoctoral Researcher in Avian Population Ecology

The Institute for Bird Populations (IBP)

Location: Remote work allowed

Project description and responsibilities: We seek a Postdoctoral Researcher in quantitative ecology to develop analyses of avian point count data collected on US National Park Service (NPS) units to make inferences about population changes and abundance-climate relationships. Duties will include 1) collaborate with NPS staff to collate data sets from multiple NPS Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) networks, 2) summarize past and current I&M multispecies landbird monitoring programs, 3) develop and implement multi-network models of avian abundance as functions of annual climate covariates to understand current and potential future trajectories of target bird populations at multiple spatial scales, 4) identify challenges and solutions for data integration from disparate data sets and potentially recommend program modifications, and 5) present project results at conferences, in NPS briefs/web-based outlets, in multiple peer-reviewed papers, and in NPS reports. The successful candidate will also provide analytical support to IBP staff and have opportunities to collaborate on other IBP projects (see www.birdpop.org for information on monitoring programs and recent projects), accounting for around 15% of their time.

Qualifications: PhD in wildlife biology, ecology, applied statistics, or a related field. Applicants must have experience in R programming and Bayesian analyses of hierarchical models. General knowledge of landbird ecology and issues related to bird-counting and sampling availability/detection preferred. The ideal candidate should have a strong publication record (based on career stage), be able to work efficiently and effectively with diverse collaborators, and have strong oral and written communication skills.

Salary and benefits: Annual salary of $65,000 and benefits for up to two years.

Supervisor: Work will be conducted under the supervision of IBP Research Ecologist Jim Saracco, with opportunities to collaborate with additional IBP staff and NPS personnel.

Start date: January 2025; earlier/later start possible depending on availability.