Unified Spatio-Temporal Biodiversity Modelling
- Supervisors: Dr Axel Rossberg
- Studentship Funding:
- Name: QMUL Principal’s Studentship
- Funder: Queen Mary University of London
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Expected Start Date: Sept 2024
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis up until the deadline of 23.59PM, August 30th 2024. The studentship may be awarded prior to the August deadline and those interested in applying are encouraged to submit their application as soon as it's ready.
Download this document for further details, eligibility criteria and how to apply. [PDF 134KB]
Project Overview
Applications are open for a 3-year funded PhD Studentship in the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences (SBBS) at Queen Mary University of London.
This project will advance spatio-temporal modelling of complex biodiversity to the next level of rigour and apply it to study species and community responses to environmental change.
Owing to conceptual and computational constraints, spatio-temporal biodiversity patterns have traditionally been modelled as metacommunities: spatial networks of ecological communities linked through dispersal. However, not only is this framing somewhat artificial (except for, e.g., systems of many lakes or islands), even within this framework modellers have struggled to incorporate the full set of processes known to affect spatio-temporal biodiversity patterns.
Using a new, yet unpublished modelling approach that we developed, this project will overcome these barriers, providing a complete description of how biodiversity patterns arise in continuous space and time from the full set of known metacommunity processes, thus unifying metacommunity theory and applied spatial distribution modelling.
Research Environment
The Rossberg Lab is a vibrant and collegial group of theoretical ecologists driven by the joint mission to explore new intellectual territory where no one has gone before. The group is part of QMUL’s Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainability.
The successful candidate will receive dedicated training in theoretical community ecology, supercomputing, and mathematical methods used to simplify complex systems.
Find out more about the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences on our website.
Entry Requirements & Criteria
We are looking for candidates to have or expecting to receive a first or upper-second class honours degree and a Master’s degree in an area relevant to the project such as Ecology, Applied Mathematics, Software Engineering or Theoretical Physics. Candidates should evidence research experience in at least one of these areas.
Coding experience would be highly advantageous but is not required.
Find out more about our entry requirements here.
Funding
The studentship is funded by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). It will cover home tuition fees, and provide an annual tax-free maintenance allowance for 3 years at the UKRI rate (£20,622 in 2024/25).
Please find out more about funding and eligibility via:Rossberg_QMUL Studentship Details [PDF 134KB]
Any further queries can be sent to sbbs-pgadmissions@qmul.ac.uk
How to Apply
Find out more about our application process on our SBBS website.
Informal enquiries about the project can be sent to Axel Rossberg at a.rossberg@qmul.ac.uk
Admissions-related queries can be sent to sbbs-pgadmissions@qmul.ac.uk.
Further details can be downloaded here: Rossberg_QMUL Studentship Details [PDF 134KB]
References
O’Sullivan, J.D., Knell, R.J., Rossberg, A.G., 2019. Metacommunity-scale biodiversity regulation and the self-organised emergence of macroecological patterns. Ecol. Lett. 22, 1428–1438. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13294
O’Sullivan, J.D., Terry, J.C.D., Rossberg, A.G., 2021. Intrinsic ecological dynamics drive biodiversity turnover in model metacommunities. Nat. Commun. 12, 3627. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23769-7