Predoctoral Researcher for SEA-TO-SUMMIT project (Ref. 26-059-IV00253)

Four-year FPI predoctoral contract (37.5 h/week) at CREAF in the Temporal Ecology and Biogeography Lab (Global Ecology Unit), within the SEA-TO-SUMMIT project (PID2025-174835NB-I00), which integrates palaeoecology, phylogenetic diversity and genomics across elevational gradients in Macaronesia. The PhD asks why some plant species persist for millennia while others decline or disappear: using Holocene fossil pollen records from the Canary Islands and the Azores, the candidate will reconstruct vegetation dynamics over the last 11,700 years from coastal habitats to mountain ecosystems, identify taxa that persisted, expanded, declined, disappeared or reappeared, and test whether these trajectories relate to ecological, phylogenetic or genomic traits.

Training covers palaeoecology and fossil pollen analysis, statistical modelling in R, plant genomics and biodiversity informatics (with the Botanical Institute of Barcelona), island biogeography modelling and phylogenetics (with Naturalis Biodiversity Center), and open-science practice, with fieldwork in the Canary Islands. The candidate enrols in the UAB PhD Programme in Terrestrial Ecology. Gross salary EUR 25,456.15 per year under RD 103/2019 (EPIF); planned start January 2027, subject to the project’s final resolution.

Informal enquiries: PI Sandra Nogué.

Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biology, Environmental Sciences, Ecology, Biogeography or a related discipline; strong analytical and quantitative skills; interest in palaeoecology, island biology and evolutionary ecology; fieldwork and teamwork experience; R programming is an asset; excellent written and spoken English. Applications (CVA in English, motivation letter under one page, bachelor’s and master’s transcripts) only through the CREAF job board.