Dr. Rebecca Asch seeks to hire a postdoctoral researcher to play a leading role in a three-year project recently funded by the NSF Biological Oceanography Program. This project will utilize six, multidecadal fisheries independent datasets from the Gulf of Alaska and California Current Ecosystem to investigate the responses of fishes to climate change and climate variability across multiple life history stages. The goal of this project is to investigate whether there are ecological evolutionary tradeoffs between whether species respond to climate change by shifting their spatial distribution versus changing the seasonal timing of temperature-sensitive activities, such as spawning. The postdoctoral researcher will also work with project collaborators to develop life-history dependent, statistical models of 21st century shifts in species distribution and spawning phenology using a recently developed regional climate model. The selected postdoctoral researcher will play a key role in data analysis, model development, data visualization, and dissemination of project results through publications and presentations at scientific meetings. The postdoctoral researcher will be based at East Carolina University (ECU; located in Greenville, NC), but will actively collaborate with project team members at Oregon State University, University of California – Santa Cruz, Rutgers University, and multiple branches of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Optional opportunities to participate in fieldwork and gain teaching experience at ECU are available for the postdoctoral researcher.

Requirements for this position include:

1) A Ph.D. in biological oceanography, marine ecology, fisheries science, or a closely related field

2) Previous experience using a scientific computing program (e.g., R, MATLAB, Python)

3) A track record of publishing peer-reviewed manuscripts

4) A strong background in statistics and data analysis

Preferred qualifications for this position include:

1) Experience developing species distribution models, especially generalized additive models (GAMs)

2) Experience utilizing earth system or regional climate models

3) Experience working with fisheries independent datasets

Funding is available for the selected candidate to start work on this project immediately. The initial contract for the postdoctoral researcher will be for a one-year period, with renewal for up to three years pending job performance. Salaries for postdoctoral researchers at ECU are based on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) pay scale.

To apply for this position, applicants should submit a cover letter, a curriculum vitae, a two-page research statement, and names and contact information for three references. Applications should be submitted through the following website: https://ecu.peopleadmin.com/postings/44706. Review of applications will begin on October 19, 2021, but will continue until a suitable candidate is found.

The selected candidate will work in the Asch Fisheries Oceanography Lab at ECU. The PI of this lab, Dr. Rebecca Asch, was selected as one of eight early career researchers in the US and Canada to receive a Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship in Ocean Sciences in 2018. The Asch Lab conducts research on the effects of climate change and climate variability on the early life history stages of fishes, with a focus on changes in spawning phenology. We work in a variety of geographic settings (e.g., current projects focus on North Carolina, the California Current, Caribbean, and North Pacific Subtropical Gyre) and aim to blend modeling and observational techniques in our work. Recent Asch Lab publications can be found here. ECU is home of a growing community of coastal researchers who are distributed between the main campus in Greenville, NC and the Coastal Studies Institute in Wanchese, NC. The ECU Department of Biology has five faculty members whose research focuses on fishes and fisheries and hosts an active student subunit of the American Fisheries Society (AFS). The Asch Lab and East Carolina University (ECU) seek to create an environment that fosters the recruitment and retention of a diverse and inclusive body of students, research staff, and faculty.

Questions about this position can be addressed to Rebecca Asch.