The Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Group within the Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) seeks a postdoctoral researcher with an understanding of aquatic biology and chemistry, with a specific focus on contaminant behavior and bioaccumulation in freshwater systems. The successful candidate will work collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team of environmental scientists at ORNL to understand the chemical and ecological factors controlling mercury methylation and bioaccumulation in contaminated aquatic systems and will develop experimental designs aimed at mitigating methylmercury bioaccumulation.
Mercury is one of the most pervasive and widespread contaminants worldwide but the relationship between environmental mercury concentrations, methylmercury production, and mercury bioaccumulation is poorly understood. Because methylmercury bioaccumulation in fish poses both a human health and ecological risk, there is a need to understand both the chemical and ecological drivers of mercury bioaccumulation in aquatic systems. In particular, the candidate will examine the effects of filter feeders on mercury dynamics in stream systems. As keystone species in freshwater ecosystems, freshwater bivalves can drastically affect water quality, habitat, and food web structures, and consequently their presence may also affect mercury bioaccumulation and trophic transfer. The results from this project will be useful in guiding future remediation efforts at Oak Ridge but will also provide a fundamental understanding of the processes governing mercury bioaccumulation in stream systems.
We will begin reviewing applicants on March 4, 2024.
https://jobs.ornl.gov/Exempt/job/Oak-Ridge-Postdoctoral-Research-Associa...