Postdoc Position on Antarctic Mixotrophic Microalgae

Postdoc Position on Antarctic Mixotrophic Microalgae

UvA - University of Amsterdam

Amsterdam, Netherlands

€ 3,706 - € 5,760 per month gross

Are you fascinated by marine microbes? Are you interested in the dynamics of microalgal communities, and how they are affected by environmental change? Do you like to combine laboratory experiments with molecular methods and fieldwork in polar ecosystems? We have a vacancy for a postdoctoral researcher within the NWO-funded project ‘The key role of mixotrophy in Antarctic Carbon and Sulfur Cycles’ (MACS).

Join us!

The Antarctic seasonal sea-ice zone is rapidly changing, with consequences for the key primary producers: microalgae growing in sea-ice and water. While traditionally regarded as purely photoautotrophic, many of these microalgae likely also feed on other microbes or take up dissolved organic matter. Such a mixotrophic lifestyle might help them to survive the polar night and allow them an early start in the growing season, long before other algae receive sufficient light to pick up growth. Additionally, microalgae contribute to the production of the trace gas dimethylsulfide (DMS) that has an impact on climate via cloud formation. The MACS project aims to understand the role of mixotrophic protists in Antarctic C- and S-cycles. Such mechanistic understanding will help predict how changing ice cover will affect microalgal growth and DMS-production in the future, and whether feedbacks might be expected in a changing climate.

What are you going to do?

As a postdoc in the MACS project you will investigate how multiple environmental stressors affect the community composition, physiology, and gene expression of Antarctic microalgae, with a particular focus on their mixotrophic nutrition. You will resolve how mixotrophy contributes to carbon cycling during ice melt in spring and how this contribution depends on environmental conditions. You will perform laboratory experiments and fieldwork in collaboration with two other postdocs within the project.

Tasks and responsibilities:

• Design and perform laboratory experiments with cultured microalgae to assess their response to multiple environmental factors under controlled conditions;
• Participate in a research expedition to Rothera station, West Antarctic Peninsula, to assess microalgal species composition and perform field experiments to quantify their rates of feeding and photosynthesis;
• Publication of the results in international scientific journals;
• Presentation of the results in the department, at meetings of the Netherlands Polar Program, and at (international) scientific conferences;
• Supervision of BSc and/or MSc students who wish to do an internship on Antarctic microalgae.

Your profile

We are looking for an enthusiastic candidate, who enjoys a combination of laboratory experiments and field studies. You have a keen interest in marine microalgal ecology and are eager to perform research in Antarctica. You are a well-organized team player, but also able to work independently, and enjoy collaboration in an international team.

Your experience and profile:

• A PhD degree in phytoplankton ecology, environmental microbiology, biological oceanography or a related field;
• Experience with culturing aquatic microorganisms, physiological assays and fieldwork in marine ecosystems;
• Experience with omics-techniques and bioinformatic/computational analyses are a plus;
• Willingness and ability to perform extended fieldwork at Rothera station, Antarctica;
• Strong communication skills in English.