Terrestrial Biodiversity Adaptation Research Network

The Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment at UWS is seeking an excellent doctoral candidate to undertake a funded project entitled “Microorganisms, Ecosystem Functions and Climate Change”.

About the Project
This study shall investigate the effect of various climate variables (increased temperature, carbon dioxide and altered precipitation) and extreme weathers (flooding and extreme drought) on soil biodiversity, certain ecosystem functions and link this change in functions with changes in associated functional groups such as microbes involved in carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling. The project aims to im-prove mechanistic understanding of feedback responses to climate change which could be further exploited to improve the national and global prediction. This is a very flexible project and could be modified according to interests of the successful candidate.
As a doctoral student, you will gain experience in experimental design, GHG measurement techniques and range of state of art of molecu-lar approaches such as Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (TRFLP), cloning and sequencing, pyrosequencing, multivari-ate statistical analyses, scientific writing and presentation. During the course of the project, you will have access to some of the best known scientists in this field for consultation and advice. There is a possibility of the successful candidate spending a period of time at Imperial College, London (UK) for sample collection and training in process measurements.

APPLICATIONS CLOSE 6 MAY 2011

For more information:
www.uws.edu.au/research/scholarships/new...olarships#Hawkesbury