"Postdoctoral Associate (Quantitative Tropical Ecology & Conservation), Cornell University, Cornell Lab of Ornithology"

Postdoctoral Associate: Quantitative Tropical Ecology and Conservation

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) is a pioneer of purpose-driven science and Cornell University's second-largest college. We work across disciplines to tackle the challenges of our time through world-renowned research, education, and outreach. The questions we probe and the answers we seek focus on three overlapping concerns: We believe that achieving next-generation scientific breakthroughs requires an understanding of the world's complex, interlocking systems. We believe that access to nutritious food and a healthy environment is a fundamental human right. We believe that ensuring a prosperous global future depends on the ability to support local people and communities everywhere. By working in and across multiple scientific areas, CALS can address challenges and opportunities of the greatest relevance, here in New York, across the nation, and around the world.

Located in the beautiful Sapsucker Woods Sanctuary, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (the Lab) is dedicated to advancing the understanding and protection of the natural world and joins with people from all walks of life to make new scientific discoveries, share insights, and galvanize conservation action. The Lab is a vibrant unit within Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), and our management and staff are committed to upholding the highest standards of ethics and excellence across all aspects of our work.

This position will be based in the K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics (Yang Center), one of six programmatic centers within the Lab. The Yang Center's mission is to collect and interpret sounds in nature by developing and applying innovative technologies across multiple ecologically relevant scales to inspire and inform the conservation of wildlife and habitats. Our highly interdisciplinary team of scientists, educators, engineers, students, and research support personnel are working with many national and international collaborators on a wide variety of terrestrial, aquatic, and marine bioacoustic research projects tackling conservation issues worldwide.

The incumbent will join a research group led by Dr. Dena J. Clink to develop, evaluate, and apply quantitative methods for large-scale biodiversity monitoring and conservation. The research will leverage existing passive acoustic monitoring datasets from Southeast Asia, with a focus on priority taxa, including gibbons, langurs, Asian elephants, and focal bird species such as green peafowl, giant ibis, and sarus crane. The successful candidate will build reproducible machine learning pipelines, integrate detections into spatial ecological models, and generate conservation-relevant outputs for regional partners.

Position Function

The project scope offers an opportunity to advance both applied conservation practice and fundamental ecological understanding. The incumbent will refine automated detection models for species of conservation concern and integrate model outputs into occupancy, abundance, and habitat-use frameworks to address applied ecological questions. The position is also highly collaborative: the incumbent will work closely with NGO and academic partners in Southeast Asia, including partners in Cambodia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Responsibilities will include coordinating with in-country partners on study design, validation workflows, and result interpretation, with an emphasis on building local analytical capacity and ensuring reproducibility. Approximately 3-4 weeks of international travel will be expected per year.

In addition to collaborating with external partners, the postdoctoral associate will work closely with scientists in the Yang Center and across Cornell. The incumbent will have the opportunity to mentor undergraduate students and visiting scholars on related projects. The incumbent will be encouraged to develop independent research questions aligned with the project's broader goals and to serve as first author on manuscripts.

This position is a one-year appointment, renewed annually upon successful performance. Further extension is contingent upon funding.

Anticipated Division of Time

• Develop and conduct biodiversity research to meet project goals. Analyze research findings. Apply results to conservation decisions and actions in collaboration with local partners. (35%)
• Prepare manuscripts for high-impact peer-reviewed journals and other research products, including reports and relevant information to partners. (35%)
• Present results at professional meetings, conferences, and popular seminars. (15%)
• Engaging with partners and possible funders. Participate in career and professional development opportunities. (10%)
• Engage in ongoing academic and intellectual life at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Cornell University more broadly. (5%)

Pay Range: $62,232.00 - $88,745.00