Teaching and research postdoc in GISc on the development of movement models

Are you enthusiastic about the chance to combine research in Geographic Information Science (GISc) — particularly in movement analysis — with teaching and student supervision? Have you recently earned a PhD in GISc and feel inspired to share your expertise with the next generation while advancing your own research and lecturing/supervision skills? If so, we invite you to read on!

The Geo-information Science team within the Laboratory of Geo-information Science and Remote Sensing (GRS) is an interdisciplinary research group dedicated to developing integrated approaches to geospatial systems analysis. Our team pushes the boundaries of how spatial data can be used to tackle today’s pressing environmental and societal sustainability challenges. We envision a future where high-quality, reliable geospatial information seamlessly connects disciplines and scales, driving more responsible and impactful decision-making. We advance integrative, data-driven approaches to spatial analysis for the purpose of supporting decision-making for resource management. We use methodological innovation and participatory approaches to address complex challenges, including global change. Bridging interdisciplinary boundaries enables us to conduct impact-oriented research, by using geo-information as a tool for collaborations bringing together research, society, and policy actors and interests.

As we expand our teaching capacity, we offer an exciting opportunity to combine your passion for education with cutting-edge research: you will divide your time in equal shares between teaching GISc at bachelor and master levels, and advancing research about the integration of statistical movement models with predictive simulation models. Specifically, you will develop step selection functions based on a large tracking dataset of African herbivores to quantify the animals’ selection for thermal shelter versus resource availability. You will then develop a procedure to translate these quantified relationships to a predictive agent based model for the investigation of animal movement behaviour under future climate scenarios.

We also encourage you to integrate your research and derived examples in your teaching. By involving students in research projects and taking research examples to the classroom, we aim to strengthen the quality of our study programs. There is room for the development of your own research vision and the strengthening of your didactic skills, to build a strong academic CV.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Conduct research on the integration of step selection functions with agent based models.
• Publish your findings in peer-reviewed scientific journals and present your results at conferences.
• Lecture on Geo-information Science in BSc and MSc courses offered by the GRS chair group.
• Guide students through practical exercises that apply GIS concepts using various open- and closed-source software solutions.
• Introduce students to the fundamentals of spatiotemporal data science and machine learning using scripting languages.
• Supervise BSc and MSc thesis students conducting research in Geo-information Science.

You will work here
The research is embedded within the Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing (GRS), which is led by Prof. Kirsten de Beurs and Prof. Sytze de Bruin

Wetenschappelijk Onderzoeker Biologische Plaagbestrijding

Als onderzoeker biologische bestrijding draag je bij aan de verdere verduurzaming van de glastuinbouwsector. Je werkt samen met telers, toeleveranciers, overheden en andere onderzoekers aan nieuwe oplossingen voor biologische plaagbestrijding.

Jouw werk richt zich op het ontwikkelen van nieuwe systemen voor biologische plaagbestrijding en het verbeteren van bestaande systemen.

Binnen het team plantgezondheid ben jij verantwoordelijk voor acquisitie, projectleiding en het uitvoeren van onderzoek.

Jouw taken en verantwoordelijkheden als onderzoeker biologische plaagbestrijding zijn:

• Het acquireren van onderzoekprojecten op basis van kennisbehoeften in de praktijk en het onderhouden van contacten met klanten.
• Het leiden en coördineren van onderzoeksprojecten en het uitvoeren van proeven met mijten en insecten in lab en kas.
• Het evalueren van nieuwe natuurlijke vijanden (zowel insecten, mijten als micro-organismen) voor plaagbestrijding, het ontwikkelen van methoden om natuurlijke vijanden beter te laten vestigen en functioneren in kassen, het bestuderen van de interacties tussen verschillende soorten natuurlijke vijanden (ecosysteem benadering), en de interacties van plagen en natuurlijke vijanden met kasklimaat, plantweerbaarheid, plantenvoeding, biodiversiteit en andere manieren van plaagbestrijding.
• De verwerking en interpretatie van onderzoeksgegevens en de verslaglegging daarvan in rapporten, (web-)artikelen, wetenschappelijke publicaties, mondelinge presentaties en nieuwsbrieven.
• De begeleiding van projectmedewerkers (HBO, junior WO), stagiairs en studenten.

Jouw team
Jij gaat samenwerken met andere collega’s die actief zijn op dit thema (2 wetenschappelijke onderzoekers, 6 HBO/MBO onderzoekers, PhD’s en stagiaires). Deze groep maakt onderdeel uit van het team gewasgezondheid dat bestaat uit 24 collega’s. Je standplaats is Bleiswijk waar we beschikken over moderne laboratorium- en kasfaciliteiten.

Hier ga je werken
Het team gewasgezondheid maakt onderdeel uit van Wageningen Plant Research, waarbinnen nog ruim 100 andere collega’s actief werken aan een duurzame glastuinbouw zowel op onze locatie in Bleiswijk als in Wageningen.

Scientific Researcher Biological Control

As a researcher in biological control, you contribute to the further sustainability of the greenhouse horticulture sector. You work together with growers, suppliers, government bodies, and other researchers on new solutions for biological pest control.

Your work focuses on developing new systems for biological pest control and improving existing systems.

Within the Crop Health team, you are responsible for acquisition, project management, and conducting research.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Acquiring research projects based on practical knowledge needs and maintaining contact with clients.
• Leading and coordinating research projects and conducting experiments with mites and insects in the laboratory and greenhouse.
• Evaluating new natural enemies (including insects, mites, and microorganisms) for pest control; developing methods to improve the establishment and performance of natural enemies in greenhouses; studying interactions between different species of natural enemies (ecosystem approach); and examining interactions between pests and natural enemies in relation to greenhouse climate, plant resilience, plant nutrition, biodiversity, and other pest control methods.
• Processing and interpreting research data and reporting results in reports, (web) articles, scientific publications, oral presentations, and newsletters.
• Supervising project staff (higher professional education level, junior university level), interns, and students.

Your team
You will work with other colleagues active in this field (2 scientific researchers, 6 applied researchers at higher/intermediate vocational level, PhD candidates, and interns). This group is part of the Crop Health team, which consists of 24 colleagues.

Your workplace will be Bleiswijk, where we have modern laboratory and greenhouse facilities.

You will work here
The Crop Health team is part of Wageningen Plant Research, where more than 100 other colleagues are working on sustainable greenhouse horticulture, both at our location in Bleiswijk and in Wageningen.

PhD: Modelling aquatic food production in circular food systems

The Aquaculture biology and Fisheries ecology group (AFI) at Wageningen University is looking for a PhD with a sincere interest in sustainable aquaculture and fisheries.

The concept of circular food systems is seen as a promising approach to producing sufficient food while minimizing environmental impacts. Within circular food systems, animals play a valuable role by upcycling biomass that humans cannot or do not want to eat directly (e.g. leftovers) into nutrient-rich food. Optimal use of these leftovers requires a combination of different animal species, as animals can differ substantially in their ability to upcycle specific biomass streams.

Aquaculture and fisheries are vital global food sources and are anticipated to play an important role in the transition to circular food systems. Fisheries provide nutrient-dense food with relatively low resource use, while aquaculture has the potential to efficiency upcycle biomass. However, feed-food competition (the use of food grade ingredients in animal feed) remains a key challenge in aquaculture.

Under the circularity paradigm, animal production -including aquaculture- is constrained by the availability of leftovers. In theory, more efficient conversion of leftovers into human food or increasing the share of edible parts of the fish could increase nutrient supply without increasing production. Understanding the nutritional contributions and environmental impacts of such strategies can help shape future pathways towards more circular aquaculture and fisheries.

This project aims to analyse resource use, environmental impacts, and nutritional contributions of aquatic foods in future food system scenarios. By identifying trade-offs between circularity objectives, environmental outcomes and nutrition, this PhD project will provide practically applicable insights to support the development of more sustainable aquaculture and fisheries.

As a PhD student, you will work on:

• Using international datasets on aquaculture feed, production and nutritional composition to evaluate trends in feed use of global aquaculture and estimate feed-food competition.
• Identifying trade-offs between nutrition, resource use, and greenhouse gas emissions of aquaculture and fisheries in future food systems using linear optimisation models.
• Assessing nutrients provided by aquaculture and fisheries under different fish consumption strategies in future food system scenarios using linear optimisation models.

You will work here
The research is embedded within the chair Aquaculture biology and Fisheries ecology, which is led by Prof. Geert Wiegertjes. You will be supervised by Dr Anne-Jo van Riel and Prof. Dr Ir Geert Wiegertjes.

PhD: Environmental Risks & Societal Benefits of Upscaling Offshore Wind Farms

Over the next decades, the use of the North Sea (our human footprint) will dramatically increase to accommodate large-scale implementation of renewable energy platforms, such as offshore wind farms (OWFs). While providing a sustainable source of energy, OWFs and associated activities will exert pressures on the North Sea that cause ecological changes - some may be unwanted while others may provide societal benefits. You will contribute knowledge needed by decisionmakers to plan the future ecological and economic sustainability of the North Sea in light of i) multiple pressures from different sectors, ii) the need for conservation (marine protected areas) and restoration, and iii) projected impacts of climate change.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Advancing knowledge on the cumulative ecological impacts of pressures on the North Sea, including the upscaling of offshore wind energy.
• Employing natural capital frameworks to translate ecological to socio-economic impacts.
• Evaluating how risk assessments and ecosystem service valuation can contribute to science advice on the sustainable use of the marine environment through ecosystem-based management and marine spatial planning.
• Developing ways to make this advice climate-proof and identify climate-ready solutions.
• Contributing to the synthesis of natural and social science products stemming from the NWO NO-REGRETS program.

You will work here
This research is part of the multidisciplinary NO-REGRETS Project, funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). In total, 14 Dutch organizations collaborate within NO-REGRETS including 6 research institutes and 8 universities. The project also includes industry, government, and NGO Cooperation Partners. This is one of 12 PhD positions funded in the program and is a collaboration between Wageningen Marine Research (WMR), the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), and Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

You will be matriculated at WUR as part of the Marine Animal Ecology group with the project Scientific Coordinator Prof. Myron Peck (‪Myron Peck - ‪Google Scholar) but integrated within the group of dr.ir. GJ (Gerjan) Piet at WMR in Den Helder. You will also actively collaborate with Dr. Patrick Bogaart at CBS in The Hague. There is flexibility in the primary location of the position.

About the project:
NO-REGRETS is a 5.5-year, multi-disciplinary research program co-designed with stakeholders to understand the ecological and economic tradeoffs of upscaling offshore wind farms (OWFs) in light of climate change and in relation to the ongoing food and nature transitions in the North Sea. A “whole-ecosystem” approach is used by examining physical and biogeochemical processes, suspended sediments, plankton, fish, seabed composition, seafloor organisms, marine mammals, and sea birds. Oceanographic research cruises, satellite remote sensing and ecosystem modelling will advance knowledge needed for testing of ecological hypotheses, performing bioeconomic analyses, and informing science-based policymaking.