"Doctoral Researcher (PhD student)"

Biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation are increasingly shaped by interactions across ecosystem boundaries, yet the mechanisms linking terrestrial and aquatic communities remain poorly understood. This doctoral position is part of the TRACE – Trait Responses Across Connected Ecosystems project (2025–2028).

The TRACE project has a broad focus on understanding connectivity between forest and lake ecosystems using functional traits, with particular emphasis on trait dimensions related to tolerance, movement, and interaction. By integrating multi-taxa field data, trait-based ecology, experiments, and advanced statistical analyses, TRACE aims to uncover how ecological processes propagate across blue–green boundaries and shape biodiversity patterns at local to regional scales.

The PhD project offers some flexibility to jointly define the specific research focus according to the candidate’s scientific interests, provided that the topic remains fully embedded within the objectives and work packages of the TRACE project.