Postdoctoral Researcher (Development of Indicators to Assess Marine Protected Areas)

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

Postdoctoral Researcher

(Development of Indicators to Assess Marine Protected Areas)

The Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS) is recruiting a postdoctoral researcher for assessing changing conditions in the marine protected areas (MPA) of California. The successful candidate will hold a PhD in marine science that included study of biological oceanography and/or marine ecology themes. Experience in marine protected area research, analysis of data over spatial and/or temporal domains, and programming skills in one or more of Python, R Studio, or Matlab will also be beneficial.

The Postdoctoral Researcher will be part of a team of experts working on the assessment of long-term change in selected MPAs and reference areas across the state. As part of the broader project, the team will include the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS), the University of California, Santa Cruz, Axiom Data Science, California Sea Grant, and numerous other affiliated partners.

The key objective is to address the question: How can data from various investigators, locations, habitats and methods be integrated to produce robust assessments of change in key indicators that are useful for MPA management? Additional roles and responsibilities of the position include:

• Integrating data from selected sites and reference areas across the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) and California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Marine Protected Area Monitoring Program.

• Assist in the development ‘curated data views’ and similar ‘data dashboard’ type tools to efficiently collate and share information on changing conditions.

• Contribute to statewide research assessments of the factors potentially influencing change in MPAs including regional climate variability and change, MPA management practices or other pressures.

The post will be based at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) located in Moss Landing, CA. MBARI has an active postdoctoral research program with other fellowships in the fields of biological, chemical, and physical oceanography, marine geology, and ocean engineering. Opportunities to participate in fieldwork are expected for understanding the collection of data that make up part of the expected assessment. 

This is a term position, with an expected duration of up to eighteen months with a possible extension, based on availability of funds from this and other related efforts.

Please include in your application material:

• A cover letter;

• A curriculum vitae;

• A research statement describing relevant experiences and future objectives (≤ 2 pages);

• Contact details for three professional references.

Submit your cover letter and resume by e-mail to jobs@mbari.org, or by mail to the below address, or by fax to (831) 775-1620.

MBARI, Human Resources

Job Code: PD-CeNCOOS

7700 Sandholdt Road

Moss Landing, CA  95039

Related Links:

• https://www.mbari.org/

• https://caseagrant.ucsd.edu/news/ocean-protection-council-awards-9-million-for-marine-protected-area-monitoring

• https://www.cencoos.org/

MBARI is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. MBARI considers all applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or covered veteran status in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.

EOE

MBARI Welcomes Diversity