Company profile

The Swiss Ornithological Institute is a non-profit foundation dedicated to ornithology and the protection of birds. It monitors native birds, researches their way of life and advocates for threatened species. It looks after injured and orphaned birds, provides information and advice to the public, and runs a visitor center in Sempach. The Swiss Ornithological Institute currently has over 200 employees in all parts of the country.

Job description

The MoveInEurope project is an international scientific collaboration aiming at quantifying the biomass flows and movement patterns of aerial insects in Europe, from regional to continental scales and over timescales from days to years, using radar data. We are particularly interested in identifying the atmospheric, climatic, and landscape/habitat drivers of migratory animal movements. MoveInEurope grew out of GloBAM (https://globam.science), a BioDivERsa (www.biodiversa.org) research project with partners in Switzerland, Belgium, Finland, The Netherlands, and the USA.

We are seeking to fill a postdoctoral researcher position within the MoveInEurope project to: (1) analyse the interactions between bird and insect abundances and movements, and (2) improve the taxonomic detail of insect identification from radar data.

Your tasks

· Enhance the extraction of biological information (especially insects) from radar data through improvements in signal processing, feature extraction, and classification algorithms, and the collection of insect field/air reference data

· Analyse data from >15 radars across Europe to quantify bird and insect abundances and movements over time, and in particular the links between the two taxa

· Upscale estimates from vertical-looking radars using weather radar data

Your profile

· PhD in ecology, biology, remote sensing, or related discipline

· Background in radar aeroecology, migration ecology, or other relevant fields

· Strong quantitative skills and proficiency in a programming language, preferably R

· Excellent communication skills and interest in working in a collaborative project

We offer

· An international, dynamic, and flexible research group working on animal migration

· Collaboration with leading national and international researchers

· Salary in accordance with the regulations of the Swiss Ornithological Institute
(± 6200 CHF gross per month in the first year).

· The position is for 2 years with possibility of extension for an additional year, with a preferred starting date of 1 July 2022.

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