"Research Assistant - DeerImpact Project"

Department:

Biology

Vacancy ID:

038944

Closing Date:

15-Jan-2026

The Forest Ecology and Global Change Research Lab is seeking a highly motivated Research Assistant to join our DAFM funded DeerImpact research project.

Project Description:

Deer populations have reached extreme levels in many regions in Ireland, resulting in serious financial and environmental damage to forests and agricultural land. Stakeholders are struggling to identify deer density thresholds which set the limit between sustainable and unsustainable populations. Identifying these thresholds can inform management actions aimed at reducing localised high-density populations and related impacts. The DeerImpact project (University College Dublin, Maynooth University, Atlantic Technological University, funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine) is using a suite of novel methodologies to accurately measure the impact of deer in forest and grassland ecosystems.

Recent evidence has indicated that increasing populations of free-ranging deer are negatively impacting forage production in agricultural grasslands in Ireland. As part of the wider DeerImpact project, researchers at the Forest Ecology and Global Change lab will investigate the impact of deer on forage production in agricultural grasslands. Deer exclosures will be established in grassland sites across a gradient of deer population densities. Over 2 years, deer activity (using camera traps) & grass yield in paired fenced & unfenced experimental plots will be monitored. We are seeking a highly motivated Research Assistant to assist with experimental design and fieldwork planning, data collection in the field, and lab analysis.

Salary:

Research Assistant Level I (2025): €33,292 p.a. (1 point – with increment)

Appointments will be made in accordance with public sector pay provisions.

Closing Date:

23:30hrs (local Irish time) on Thursday 15th of January 2026

Applications must be submitted by the closing date and time specified above. Any applications which are still in progress at the closing time on the specified closing date will be cancelled automatically by the system.

Late applications will not be accepted.