Postdoctoral Scholar

Penn State University • University Park, IL

5d

About The Position

The Cardinale lab at Penn State (https://sites.psu.edu/bradcardinale/) seeks a Postdoctoral Scholar to join our research team and work on a project titled “Can landscapes be managed to feed people and save biodiversity too?” This study is designed to compare the effectiveness of two alternative land use strategies that have been proposed as ways to optimize the trade-off between food production and biodiversity conservation. Land Sparing proposes that conservation is best achieved when areas of high-intensity agriculture are kept separate from natural areas (e.g., forests) that contribute to conservation goals. Land Sharing proposes that conservation is best achieved when natural habitats are interspersed in agriculture to form a mixed-use, multifunctional landscape. This postdoc will utilize a new set of GIS maps and data layers to develop spatially explicit models that predict how fish and wildlifes respond to the configuration of agricultural and natural habitats in watersheds across the continental U.S. Models will then be used to forecast how future scenarios of land use change influence fish and wildlife conservation. The Cardinale lab, which is housed in Penn State’s Department of Ecosystem Science and Management (https://ecosystems.psu.edu/), works on the conservation and restoration of biodiversity in freshwater habitats. However, the lab’s research frequently extends to other organisms and ecosystems to look for generalities. The successful candidate will interact with the large number of faculty, postdocs, and graduate students participating in Penn State’s Water Initiative, as well as a cross-campus biodiversity initiatives led by PSU’s Huck Institute of the Life Sciences, Institute of Energy and the Environment, and the Institute for Sustainable Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Science (SAFES).

Requirements

• Individuals must have a Ph.D. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science, Ecology, Environmental Science, or a closely related field.
• The successful candidate must have completed all degree requirements by the appointment date.
• Candidates should have a strong publication record of scholarly publication.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with GIS, spatial analyses, linear mixed models, and structural equations modeling is preferred.

Benefits

• Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being.
• For more detailed information, please visit our Benefits Page. (Note: For Postdoctoral benefits, please see our Postdoctoral Benefits page.)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees