Postdoc on Modelling Global Marine Phytoplankton-Virus Interactions

Postdoc on Modelling Global Marine Phytoplankton-Virus Interactions

UvA - University of Amsterdam

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Are you intrigued by how small marine phytoplankton impact global carbon cycling and the impact of viral infections on this? Do you enjoy thinking about how to describe ecological processes with mathematical equations? The Department of Freshwater and Marine Ecology at the University of Amsterdam is looking for a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher to join our team. You will be part of the larger research consortium project PHYVIR, aimed at elucidating marine phytoplankton-virus interactions from local to global scales.

About the position

The PHYVIR project: One of the major challenges in oceanography is how to capture biological processes in mathematical models used for e.g. climate predictions. Despite their minute size, marine phytoplankton are vital for marine ecosystem productivity and play a key role in global carbon and nutrient cycling. However, like all life on Earth, phytoplankton are susceptible to viral infections. Viral-induced lysis of phytoplankton cells redirects the flow of energy and elements, with expected far-reaching consequences for ocean ecosystem structure and functioning.

Still, phytoplankton viral lysis rates are poorly constrained; to what extent viral infections affect phytoplankton stoichiometry and functional traits, as well as how this is influenced by global (climate -induced) environmental stressors, is understudied; and a comprehensive understanding of the geographical distribution of viruses and phytoplankton hosts is lacking. Moreover, virus-host dynamics in global ecosystem and biogeochemical models are generally poorly addressed.

The PHYVIR project aims to integrate complementary expertise – developing and applying mathematical models and bioinformatics to viral ecology, phytoplankton physiology and biological oceanography - to bridge the knowledge gaps that limit our current understanding and predictive power of how viral infections impact phytoplankton communities and global biogeochemical fluxes.

The PHYVIR project is funded by the Dutch research Council NWO and consists of 5 PhD and 2 Postdoc positions. This postdoc project focuses on modeling global marine virus-host interactions and their implications for carbon and nutrient cycling. The postdoc project is supervised by Dr. Cara Nissen (UvA), Prof. Jef Huisman (UvA) and Prof. Corina Brussaard (NIOZ & UvA), and the place of employment will be Amsterdam.

What are you going to do?

As a postdoctoral researcher for PHYVIR’s modelling research, you will add viruses to a global ecosystem model (MIT’s DARWIN model), coupled to an ocean circulation model (MITgcm). The model will use a trait-based approach both for the viruses and the phytoplankton. Specifically, using information on phytoplankton-virus interactions from the literature, from PHYVIR lab experiments and field studies, and from mechanistic virus-host interaction models developed by the PhD contributing to PHYVIR’s modeling research, you will implement a multi-virus model to assess how (different) viruses affect distributions and the seasonal dynamics of phytoplankton functional groups, total phytoplankton biomass, succession and plankton diversity across ocean provinces. The ultimate aim is to obtain a better understanding of how viruses affect marine carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling at the global scale under present and future conditions.

Tasks and responsibilities:

• Add marine viruses to a global ecosystem model;
• Perform model simulations on Dutch high-performance computing infrastructure (SURF);
• Analyze model outcomes using available observational datasets;
• Write proposals to acquire additional computing resources and data storage on Dutch high-performance computing infrastructure;
• Integrate results obtained by the other PHYVIR PhD students, postdoc and the larger PHYVIR team;
• Actively collaborate with researchers at MIT, including a research visit to the US;
• Present your results at meetings and scientific conferences;
• Publish your results in international scientific journals;
• Contribute to teaching and to supervision of MSc students (max 10% of the time).

Your profile

We are looking for an enthusiastic candidate who enjoys quantitative analyses and modeling, and has a keen interest in marine viral ecology, phytoplankton host-virus interactions, and biogeochemical cycles. You are well-organized and have a collaborative personality while also being able to work independently.

What do we require?

• A PhD in marine ecology, marine biogeochemistry, oceanography, climate science, environmental physics, computational science, or closely related discipline;
• Experience with running large-scale numerical ocean models used in marine ecology and/or biogeochemistry and analyzing their output;
• Experience with adding biological complexity to such models is advantageous;
• A demonstrated ability to work with programming languages such as Python, Matlab, or C++;
• Demonstrated publication record in relevant scientific areas;
• An intrinsic motivation to increase our understanding of marine ecosystems and carbon cycling;
• Strong oral and written communication skills in English.