Reference: REMEDIGRASS/BI-Msc/2019-028

A competition is open for the attribution of 1 research Grant (MSc) in the framework of the project REMEDIGRASS – Seagrass beds as green and blue infrastructures for ecosystem restoration, within the R&D Institution CIIMAR (Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research), supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., through national funds:

1. Scientific area: Ecology (Biodiversity and Conservation)

2. Eligibility Requirements:

• The candidate must hold a MSc degree in Biology, Marine Biology, Environmental Sciences, or similar scientific area;
• The candidate must have experience with benthic invertebrate ecology from estuarine or marine ecosystems;
• Experience in taxonomic identification, sampling in intertidal areas of transitional ecosystems (e.g. estuaries, coastal lagoons), including seagrass beds, and computational analysis of population dynamics, secondary production and functional diversity will also be valued; as well as proficiency in written and spoken English.

3. Work Plan:

The selected candidate will join our team under the REMEDIGRASS project. Project REMEDIGRASS aims to use seagrass bed re-colonization as a green and blue infrastructure (GBI), acting as a remediation tool in historically contaminated estuarine ecosystems. The project is based on a community-based/holistic approach including fauna and flora, to evaluate the response of the ecosystem as a whole. Specifically for this research grant, the goal is to evaluate the effects of the seagrass presence on invertebrate benthic biodiversity, food web structure and relevance to the reduction of the contaminant biomagnification. For this, functional analyses of the benthic community will also be evaluated through the evaluation of functional diversity and secondary production assessments.  

The candidate is expected to participate in the project tasks, including: a) sampling in the intertidal environmental of Ria de Aveiro; b) processing and identification of the biological material (from sorting, taxonomic identification, abundance and biomass assessment); c) classification of relevant traits for identified taxa sampled; d) contribute for data analyses; and e) write technical reports and scientific papers.

4. Legislation and official rules: Law nº 40/2004, 18th August (Research Fellowship and Studentship Regulation) amended and republished by Decreto-Lei n.º 202/2012, 27th August; Regulations for Studentships and Fellowships of the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. and CIIMAR Grants Regulation.

5. Work place: The work will be carried out at CIIMAR, Edifício do Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Av. General Norton de Matos, s/n, 4450-208 Matosinhos, under the scientific supervision of Dra. Marina Dolbeth and Dra. Vânia Freitas.

6. Duration of the contract: Duration of six (6) months, expected to start in 1 September 2019, under the regime of exclusive dedication, eventually renewable for the same period of time according to legal terms, up to the legal maximum.

7. Monthly stipend: Monthly stipend is € 989,70 according to the stipends established by FCT, I.P. in Portugal (http://alfa.fct.mctes.pt/apoios/bolsas/valores). Payment will be made by bank transfer on a monthly basis. The successful candidate will also be entitled to the reimbursement of Social Security payments (“Seguro Social Voluntário”) and work insurance.

8. Selection criteria: The grant will be awarded based on the candidates’ academic curriculum and technical skills. The ranking of candidates will be performed by a global evaluation of their scientific and curricular achievements (1 – 10 values):

1. Merit of the academic curriculum and performance (appreciation taking into account the University – level degree, its appropriateness to the position as well as the performance of the candidate in such degree) – relative weight of 30%;
2. Experience relevant for the scientific area and the project work-plan (e.g. experience with benthic invertebrate ecology from coastal ecosystems; taxonomic identification, sampling in intertidal areas of transitional ecosystems, sorting and taxonomic identification of invertebrates species, and proficiency in computational analysis – e.g., secondary production, functional diversity – will also be valued) – relative weight of 50%;
3. Published publications and/or number citations in the scientific area – relative weight of 10%;
4. Global appreciation of the motivation of the candidate and interest in the field of research, taking into account the motivation letter, recommendation letter and any other element in the CV or transcripts that can help in this regard – relative weight of 10%;

An interview may be asked to the top candidates for additional information and understand the candidate’s motivation towards the project and work plan, if the curricular evaluation does not show sufficient to a decision. In this scenario, the interview will have a relative weight of 50% for the final score. Candidates can be interviewed by video conference.

The candidate with the highest score will be offered the position. The jury reserves the right to not assign the grant depending on the quality of the applications.

9. Composition of the jury selection: Dra. Marina Dolbeth (CIIMAR, President), Dra. Vânia Freitas (CIIMAR, effetive member), Dra. Martina Ilarri (CIIMAR, effetive member), Dr. Pedro Coelho (CESAM, DBio UA, Substitute member), Dr. Francisco Arenas (CIIMAR, Substitute member).

10. Results notification: The ranking of applications will be sent by email and available in CIIMAR website; in case of disagreement, the candidates have a 10-working day term in which to contest the decision, if he/she so wishes, as provided for in the Código do Procedimento Administrativo in a preliminary hearing setting. The jury reserves the right to not assign the contract depending on the quality of the applications.

11. Deadline for application and presentation of applications: The competition is open from 25-06-2019 to 08-07-2019. The applications must be formalized, compulsorily, by sending the following documents:

• detailed Curriculum vitae (including academic training and professional career, a publication list, other relevant information in the context of the project research goals, and copies of certificates of academic degrees);
• motivation letter (including a brief description of research experience, indication of the achievements relevant for the competition, as indicated in the selection criteria, and why the candidate is suitable for the announced position)
• Recommendation letter
• contact e-mail address and phone number

Applications must be sent by email to: mgalvao@ciimar.up.pt and mdolbeth@ciimar.up.pt. Applications that do not include all the elements previously indicated will not be considered.