Postdoctoral Position: Plant phenology change over time across spatial scales

Application deadline: February 15, 2025

Location: Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Project Overview

Climate change is significantly impacting tundra ecosystems, and one of the critical consequences is the shift in plant phenology - the timing of key life events such as growth and reproduction. In Arctic and alpine tundra, phenological events are highly temperature-sensitive, and changes in the timing of spring green-up, as well as the length of growing seasons, can lead to altered plant composition and, consequently, affect wildlife habitats. In particular, warming temperatures could result in the increase of shrub species and changes in the timing of plant resources available to wildlife with implications across Arctic food webs.

The Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) project in global change ecology of northern ecosystems seeks to investigate how warming temperatures and shifting seasonal patterns affect Arctic tundra, alpine, and boreal forest ecosystems. This research will explore plant growth and flowering dynamics, including phenological change above and below ground and the implications of these shifts in the timing of plant growth across the tundra biome. Additionally, this research will assess the collective impacts of these changes on Indigenous communities’ livelihoods in the Western Canadian Arctic.

As a part of this CERC project, we are offering a postdoctoral position in the Faculty of Forestry at University of British Columbia for a self-motivated candidate with a strong scientific background in the fields of ecology, remote sensing with specific expertise or interests in plant phenology change or a related field with excellent English language skills.

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