2 year Postdoc in Theory of Adaptive Radiation

The Swedish Museum of Natural History is a government agency with a mandate to promote knowledge, research and interest in our world. It is a prominent research institution and Sweden’s largest museum. For more than 200 years, the museum has been collecting specimens and data and conducting research on life on earth. The collections contain more than 11 million plants, animals, fungi, environmental samples, minerals and fossils. All research and knowledge are shared in the exhibitions, Cosmonova and in activities at the museum and digitally.

The Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics at the Swedish Museum of Natural History is offering a two-year Postdoc position focused on theory of adaptive radiation.

We will focus on building spatially explicit and trait-based models of interacting ecological and evolutionary (eco-evolutionary) processes. You will conceptualize and model the complexity in which ecological divergence and speciation drive an adaptive radiation. The models will be based on eco-evolutionary theory and informed with ecological and evolutionary data from public databases and published papers. This combined theoretical and data driven approach includes model design and analysis as well as statistical model parametrization and validation techniques. This Postdoc position is part of a five-year research program funded by the Wallenberg Foundation, aimed at developing and applying computational tools to understand the evolution of biodiversity (see https://islandevolution.github.io/  ).

As a postdoc in this project, you will work with mathematical modelling, computer simulations and various statistical approaches to increase understanding of the ecological and evolutionary processes that underlie speciation and ecological diversification in the context of adaptive radiation. You will explore questions such as:

• How does ecological opportunity and niche-structural components of relevance for ecological diversification and speciation affect the way adaptive radiations may unfold? 
• How does adaptive radiation unfold in the presence of different genomic structures (structural variants vs SNPs)?
• How does AR unfold in the presence of hybridization and extinction?
• What are the properties/constraints (hybridization, intrinsic niche constraints, sexual selection, sexual reproduction, sexes having different niches) that promote or reduce the effects of niche specialization and speciation in the context of AR?
• How does ecological disparity evolve in the context of AR?
• How does functional diversity evolve in the context of AR and what mechanisms maintain the function, stability and resilience of such diversity?    

The Postdoc will be working closely with José Cerca (Swedish Museum of Natural History) and Mikael Pontarp (Lund University) and will have the possibility to collaborate with other members of the Swedish Museum of Natural History such as Knud Jønsson, Martin Irestedt, Johan Nylander.

• Have completed a PhD, or have acquired equivalent qualifications in Sweden or abroad.
• Documented knowledge in a relevant research field
• Excellent written and spoken English

 Merits

 In addition, experience in the following areas will be considered:

• Knowledge of interacting ecological, evolutionary, and biogeographical processes
• Proficient in modeling dynamic systems (e.g. ODE-models or IBMs)
• Experience in programming, e.g. in Matlab, Python, C++, R etc.
• A strong interest in and experience working with biodiversity

 Personal competences

• Analytical thinking
• Ability to collaborate
• Creativity

Form of employment : Temporary employment

Scope : Full-time

Commencement : 01/08/2025
According to agreement

Last application date: 05/05/2025 23:59

Reference number : 228-2025

Number of positions advertised : 1

Please include the following documents with your application:

•  A well-justified cover letter (maximum 1 page) including a statement of interest, a brief summary of your scientific work and interests, and a personal reflection on how your qualifications align with the profile of the candidate we seek.
• CV summarizing your education, positions, and academic work, including scientific publications.
• A list of publications and academic work you wish to be considered by the evaluation committee.
• Documentation of English proficiency, if applicable.
• Names and contact details of 2-3 references (including their relationship to you, email, and telephone number).
• [Optional, but beneficial] A 1-2 page research proposal outlining your interests, research questions, the biological system of focus, and theoretical foundation on which you base your research.

We advance our knowledge of the natural world, inspiring to better care of our planet. Our ambition is that the employees of The Swedish Museum of Natural History shall represent the diversity in Sweden and we welcome every applicant.

 We have decided upon choices for marketing. Therefore we decline contact with sales agents, recruitment sites and similar.

Read more : http://www.nrm.se