Super Science Fellowships

Salary Level(s):  $72,500 p.a. plus superannuation
Appointment period: Three years
Location:  James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Closing Date for applications:  31 May 2010
Reference:  1073

Position Statements

The ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies is an internationally renowned research centre encompassing >200 researchers and graduate students. It has been awarded five Australian Research Council Super Science Fellowship positions at James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. We are seeking to recruit up to three outstanding early career researchers into our successful program addressing the Resiliences of Coral Reef Ecosystems to Climate Change, as follows:

1. One fellowship: Marine mega-fauna.
The objective of this fellowship is to develop systematic priorities for management of marine mega-fauna to increase their resilience to climate change. The appointee will collect data on current and projected drivers of change, including those related to climate, for turtles and dugong populations in the northern Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and Torres Strait region to assess the costs, benefits and feasibility of diverse management actions to mitigate threats to marine mega-fauna.

For further information on this fellowship contact Professor Helene Marsh Helene.Marsh@jcu.edu.au or Professor Bob Pressey Bob.Pressey@jcu.edu.au

2. One Fellowship: Quantitative Marine Ecologist.
Quantitative marine ecologist, oceanographer, fisheries biologist or population geneticist required for developing predictions for the long-term population consequences of climate change for commercially-important reef fishes.  Preference will be given for applicants with a strong research record in hydrodynamic, fisheries, population genetics and/or metapopulation modelling. .

For further information on this fellowship contact Professor Geoff Jones Geoffrey.Jones@jcu.edu.au

3. One Fellowship in one of the following areas:

a. Coral reef fish adaptation. This fellowship will identify ecologically important variation in the physiological performance of reef fishes across their geographic ranges and use this information in conjunction with multi-generational rearing experiments at different water temperatures and CO2 concentrations to test the capacity of fishes for acclimation and adaptation to climate change. The Fellow will have an outstanding track record of research in ecological physiology of fishes, with particular expertise in O2 and CO2 transport, acid-base balance and ion regulation in fish. A demonstrated ability to integrate physiological responses from the molecular, cellular and whole organism levels to address important ecological and evolutionary questions is required.

For further information on this fellowship contact Professor Philip Munday Philip.Munday@jcu.edu.au

b. Coral acclimatization and adaptation. Applicants with a strong research track record in invertebrate innate immunity and/or microbial symbioses are sought for a fellowship to investigate processes governing the potential of corals to acclimatize or adapt to climate change in one of the following research areas:

For further information on this fellowship contact Professor Bette Willis Bette.Willis@jcu.edu.au

c. Coral genome. The objective of this fellowship is to use modern genomic approaches to determine the short and long-term responses of the coral genome to climate change. This has the potential to provide an understanding of the molecular basis of thermal acclimation and of the effects of dissolved CO2 concentrations on bleaching thresholds of corals and their algal symbionts.

For further information on this fellowship contact Professor David Miller David.Miller@jcu.edu.au

Duties and Accountabilities

Super Science Fellows will undertake research in coral reef science relevant to climate change. Additional information regarding the project.

The appointees will:

Key Selection Criteria

Eligibility

Applicants must have been awarded a PhD not more than three years before the commencement date for the Super Science Fellowship.

The ARC may determine the validity and date of effect for the attainment of PhD-equivalent status for applicants and whether to relax the timing requirements.

Fellows may, with the approval of the ARC, receive up to two-years extension to the deadline of the PhD award for maternal responsibilities.

General enquiries

Jennifer Lappin
61 7 4781 4222
Jennifer.Lappin@jcu.edu.au

Employment Type

Appointments will be full-time for a fixed term (research only) of three years subject to a probationary period. Outstnding candidates may be considered for appointment beyond 3 years

Salary

$72,500 per annum. Benefits include generous employer superannuation contribution and attractive options for salary packaging.

Method of Application

Please forward a Curriculum Vitae, a one to two page outline of future research plans or interests, pdfs of up to three recent publications, names and email addresses of three potential referees, and a cover letter briefly addressing the selection criteria to the Recruitment Officer, Human Resources, James Cook University; e-mail jcu.recruitment@jcu.edu.au. Please quote reference number 1073 and the Fellowship for which you are applying.

James Cook University Recruitment Office telephone: 61 (0)7 4781 6586

Alternatively, the application may be lodged electronically by using the on-line facility Apply online for this job