{"id":2742,"date":"2025-07-25T08:05:34","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T06:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carpathianbear.pl\/?p=2742"},"modified":"2025-09-03T14:33:34","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T12:33:34","slug":"phd-postdoc-positions-in-our-newest-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carpathianbear.pl\/en\/2025\/phd-postdoc-positions-in-our-newest-project\/","title":{"rendered":"PhD & Postdoc Positions in Our Newest Project"},"content":{"rendered":"

We invite applications for one PhD and one postdoctoral position within the National Science Centre (NCN) SONATA project \u201cHuman\u2013wildlife conflicts under global change\u201d <\/strong>(Project No. 2024\/55\/D\/NZ8\/01512). This 3-year project, starting in September 2025, aims to understand how ongoing global environmental changes shape human\u2013wildlife conflicts and coexistence. Both positions are based at the Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences in Krak\u00f3w, Poland.<\/p>\n

The project will investigate spatiotemporal patterns and trends in negative interactions between humans and terrestrial vertebrates (e.g., livestock predation, crop damage, vehicle collisions). It will assess how components of global change\u2014such as climate change, land-use dynamics, and biodiversity loss\u2014drive these conflicts at multiple spatial scales.<\/p>\n

The PhD position<\/strong> focuses on systematic literature reviews encompassing multiple taxa worldwide. The work includes classifying conflicts, analyzing spatial patterns, and identifying temporal trends at multiple scales, from national to global. Statistical approaches will involve structural equation models and hierarchical Bayesian methods (e.g., INLA) to account for complex spatiotemporal dependencies. The candidate will assess ecological pathways through which components of global change influence conflicts, providing novel insights into the mechanisms driving human\u2013wildlife interactions and their future dynamics under environmental change.<\/p>\n

The postdoc position <\/strong>focuses on modelling spatiotemporal patterns of human\u2013wildlife conflicts, using brown bear damage to livestock and agriculture across Europe as an exemplar case. The work involves analysing high-resolution time-series data, integrating remote sensing indicators of forest productivity with land-use and climate data, and developing predictive risk models of bear damage occurrence at multiple spatial resolutions. Advanced hierarchical Bayesian methods will be used to integrate risk patterns across scales and identify ecological drivers. The successful candidate will provide novel insights into the processes shaping human\u2013wildlife conflicts under global change.<\/p>\n

The project brings together leading research teams from Germany, Spain, and Poland, working at the forefront of global change ecology and human\u2013wildlife conflict research. Additionally, the postdoctoral position is connected to a collaboration network with nearly 20 bear experts across Europe.<\/p>\n

We welcome applications from motivated students and early-career researchers with a strong interest and expertise in conservation biology, ecology, and global change science. Successful candidates will join an international team dedicated to advancing knowledge on human\u2013wildlife coexistence in a rapidly changing world.<\/p>\n

How to apply? <\/strong>Please submit your application as specified in the detailed position descriptions below before 31st<\/sup> August. <\/strong>If you have any doubts, please contact carlo@iop.krakow.pl<\/strong><\/p>\n