Functional redundancy in diverse microbial communities

A PhD studentship will be available from Autumn 2013 to research biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the laboratory of Dr Thomas Bell. The post will be funded by the European Research Council, and will be based in the Division of Ecology and Evolution at Silwood Park, Department of Biology, Imperial College London.

The project will conduct experiments to try to understand the importance of functional redundancy (shared ecological roles) in 'wild' bacterial communities. Much of the biodiversity on Earth is found within the bacteria, and bacteria also play vital role in ecosystem processes, such as nutrient cycling and decomposition. However, because of the enormous complexity of these communities, bacteria are often treated as a black box in ecosystem models. The research will use an experimental approach to understand the importance of functional redundancy in constraining or enhancing ecosystem processes. The project might include field and/or laboratory experiments that manipulate the biodiversity of aquatic bacterial communities.

Students with backgrounds in microbial ecology will be considered. Evidence of experience with large-scale lab or field experiments, with molecular methods, or analysis of next-generation sequencing data would be advantageous but not required.

For more information or informal inquiries please contact Dr. Bell ([Email Address Removed], http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/people/thomas.bell). To apply, please send a cover letter explaining your background and research interests, CV, and contact information of two references, and transcripts of relevant past coursework to Dr. Bell.