Government of Canada Postdoctoral Research Program: Post-doctoral position in environmental flows
The Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD) in northeastern Alberta, Canada, is an important part of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site. In 2017, the UNESCO Reactive Monitoring Mission Report provided Canada with several recommendations to protect the OUV of the World Heritage Site, including to “conduct environmental flows assessments to the highest international standards for the Peace, Athabasca and Slave Rivers as they pertain to the health of the PAD” to inform sustainable decision-making. In response to these recommendations, Canada has produced an Action Plan (https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/nt/woodbuffalo/info/action) and Environment and Climate Change Canada is leading the development of the environmental flows framework for this ecologically- and culturally-significant ecosystem.
The development of the environmental flows framework for this region is adopting a modified Ecological Limits of Hydrologic Alteration (ELOHA) framework to balance the water needs of both aquatic, riparian and terrestrial ecosystems and human cultures and economies. The framework seeks to identify key ecosystem components (e.g. water levels, ice processes and sustainable harvesting) and how these components influence and relate to one another within a highly complex environment. The robustness of these relationships will be tested and assessed using publicly available information and both Indigenous and scientific knowledge input from multiple workshops and sources.
We are seeking a post-doctoral fellow to be part of this strongly interdisciplinary project who will focus on the development of ecohydrological indicators, integrate ecosystem components within the framework, and identify critical features of flow regimes that promote functional ecosystems in this region. We are particularly interested in individuals who combine experience with large, multidisciplinary datasets and multivariate statistics (including R), strong geospatial analysis skills, and can develop novel tools for this environmental flows assessment. The ability to work with diverse groups of experts, including First Nations and Métis communities, government and industry scientists and academics would be considered an asset.
Working with Environment and Climate Change Canada and located at the Canadian Rivers Institute, University of New Brunswick (Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada), the position is funded through the Government of Canada Postdoctoral Research Program (see https://nrcan-rncan.hiringplatform.ca/6355postdoctoral-research-program-... for additional program details). The position has initial funding for two years but may be renewable for an additional year subject to available funding and progress. Environment and Climate Change Canada is committed to having a skilled and diversified workforce representative of the population we serve.
The position will remain open until filled or re-advertised. Please send an application with your curriculum vitae that includes (i) your research interests and experience; (ii) electronic copies of two representative scientific publications; and (iii) contact details of three referees via email to Dr. Wendy Monk at wendy.monk@canada.ca.
