Missions

The post-doctoral fellow will propose computational and algorithmic solutions for the optimisation of connectivity in ecological landscapes, working on graph-based approaches. The solutions will be applied to real-life case studies where connectivity is a preferred approach to conserve connectivity.

Activités

Programming, numerical simulations, development of optimisation algorithms on graphs.

Compétences

Graph theory
Algorithms, MIP
Programming
Good level of scientific English
Teamwork
Plus: landscape ecology, biodiversity conservation

Contexte de travail

The loss and fragmentation of natural habitats is a major threat to biodiversity. On the one hand, there is a strong consensus that conserving biodiversity requires preserving a large amount of natural habitats, while on the other hand, the spatial configuration (or arrangement) of habitats for conserving biodiversity has been the subject of intense debate since the 1970s. More precisely, for a certain quantity of habitats in a landscape, are there spatial configurations that are really more favourable than others for maintaining biodiversity? This debate is extremely lively in the current literature, with two opposing scientific communities: those who defend the fact that managing the spatial configuration of habitats is essential for conservation versus those who assert that managing the configuration is of little interest and that conservation only requires the preservation and restoration of natural habitats. The two phenomena, habitat loss and fragmentation, are not independent: when the amount of habitat in a landscape decreases, the remaining 'pieces' of habitat become smaller and more widely spaced, making the debate difficult to resolve. Given the high land pressure around the world today, the opportunities to maintain or restore habitats in large quantities are limited. Designing territories to optimise the spatial configuration of habitats and the resistance of the landscape matrix (i.e. the difficulty organisms have in crossing the spaces between habitat areas) appears in this context to be the only option for conserving biodiversity. Resolving this debate on habitat fragmentation has therefore become urgent. In this context, the host team of this post-doc has set up the SCALED research project (https://www.scaled-erc.eu), using different field ecology and modelling approaches on different study systems, including the connectivity of woodlands for the conservation of the red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris). This post-doctoral topic is part of the modelling part to provide robust theoretical expectations to the field and laboratory work and to be able to extrapolate the results to other situations.

Contraintes et risques

Nothing specific

Informations complémentaires

RAS