Population Ecology

The Research Centre for Ecological Change seeks a postdoctoral researcher for two years at Viikki Campus, Helsinki. The project analyses long-term Finnish biodiversity datasets to understand how environmental change alters species co-occurrence. It examines how shifts in seasonal timing and geographic ranges combine to produce new assemblages, using spatial statistics and joint species distribution modelling. The researcher will help define the questions and work with an interdisciplinary team. Starting salary is approximately EUR 3,700 per month, depending on experience, with a six-month trial period. Applications require one English PDF containing a one-page motivation letter, a two-page CV, publications and two referee contacts. Apply by 19 October 2026 at 23:59 Europe/Helsinki.

Provide small grants for curiosity-driven basic science, including biological research, through a simple application centred on a short scientific idea video. The programme welcomes researchers at any career stage at eligible US institutions. Each award provides up to USD 10,000 as a gift to the host institution, without overhead. Applications close on 12 October 2026 at midnight Pacific Time or when the first 200 submissions are received, whichever occurs first. Biomedical, engineering and primarily computer-science proposals are outside this call’s stated remit.

Study how urban energy, material and population flows change over decades and centuries in Patrick Roberts’s Department of Coevolution of Land Use and Urbanization. Research connects supply-chain vulnerabilities and land-use impacts with historical, archaeological and environmental evidence. The Jena fellowship lasts three years; full time is standard and a minimum 75% appointment can be requested. This vacancy belongs to the September 2026 Max Planck Postdoc Program call, which accepts applications until 13 October 2026 at 12:00 CEST through the official application platform.

ISEC brings together ecologists, statisticians and quantitative researchers working on ecological inference and modelling. The main conference runs 10–15 January 2027 in Mérida, Mexico; separate pre-conference workshops run 8–9 January. Registration is open, with early rates through 30 September 2026 and reduced rates for eligible Global South participants.

Sanne Evers introduces the first forecasting challenge organized by the European Ecological Forecasting Initiative. The challenge uses long-running observations from Doñana National Park in southern Spain to support short-term predictions of vegetation indices and the abundance of multiple shrub species. Forecasting these changes can inform habitat management, productivity assessments and conservation decisions under climatic and hydrological pressures. The seminar explains why Doñana’s range of habitats and monitoring infrastructure offer a useful setting for comparing predictions before new observations become available. It also discusses lessons from developing the challenge and planned next steps, with participation encouraged across ecological disciplines and levels of forecasting experience.

Beth Gardner introduces spatial capture-recapture models for estimating wildlife population dynamics and movement. The seminar considers observations from camera traps and genetic identification using hair or scat, showing how the modeling framework can accommodate different sampling methods, time scales and movement processes. Gardner develops the Bayesian formulation through worked examples in R with NIMBLE, then discusses extensions and audience questions. The methods support estimates of demographic rates, spatial distributions and habitat relationships for conservation and management. The organizer explicitly schedules this occurrence at 15:00 Eastern time, rather than the series’ usual time.