[Taxacom] Job Announcemnet: PhD Position in Plant Evolutionary Biology

[Gerald Schneeweiss]

Dear colleagues,

a full-time Ph.D. position (three years) is available from 1. May 2017 
in the Research Group Plant Biogeography 
(http://plantbiogeography.univie.ac.at) in the Department of Botany and 
Biodiversity Research of the University of Vienna, Austria. Salary in 
this position is 37,000 Euros per year.

The successful applicant will work on a doctoral thesis in the 
University of Vienna in the context of research funded by the Austrian 
Science Fund. Using the plant genus Phyteuma (Campanulaceae) as model 
system to study evolution in and into alpine habitats, this project will 
establish a sound species phylogeny for Phyteuma using thorough analyses 
of two complementary phylogenomic data sets (target capture and RAD-seq 
derived SNP data). Based on the thus obtained phylogenetic hypothesis, 
the prevalent mode of speciation in(to) alpine habitats and putative 
ecological and morphological (pre-)adaptations will be identified. 
Specific questions include: Are alpine species the result of repeated 
speciation into alpine habitats or of in situ speciation in alpine 
habitats? What are the ancestral habitats of alpine species? What is the 
role of ecogeographic differentiation for alpine speciation? Are there 
morphological traits associated with the occurrence in alpine habitats? 
What is the impact of Pleistocene climatic oscillations on speciation in 
and/or into alpine habitats? Finally, using target capture and RAD-seq 
data and ecological modeling approaches, the phylogeographic histories 
of two widely distributed species complexes will be inferred to address 
whether a given species colonized alpine habitats once or multiple 
times, to identify the prevailing directionality of habitat shifts, and 
to assess the impact of Pleistocene climatic oscillations on 
differentiation. This work will be done in collaboration with Ovidiu 
Paun (Univ. Vienna, Austria) and Jim Leebens-Mack (Univ. Georgia, USA).

Funds are available for all bench costs, equipment and reagents for the 
three years of the thesis duration. The student should be familiar with 
phylogenomic techniques (target-capture and/or RAD-seq) and the analysis 
of phylogenomic data. Academic training will be through seminars and 
graduate-level courses at the University of Vienna as well as 
participation in national and international meetings. Good English 
skills are necessary; knowledge of German is not essential, but 
obviously helpful for living in Vienna. A Master's degree, preferably in 
plant molecular and evolutionary biology, is required. Please send 
electronically a letter of application, CV, university transcripts 
(personal copies acceptable), and two letters of recommendation to:
gerald.schneeweiss at univie.ac.at.
Evaluation of applicants will begin immediately and continue until the 
position is filled.

Best regards,

Gerald Schneeweiss