The Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) in the Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V., a part of the Leibniz Association, aims to understand and, where possible, ‘improve’ the adaptive capacity of wild animals to cope with global change. To this end, it focuses on the diversity of lifestyles, diseases and mechanisms of evolutionary adaptation of mammals and birds, on the limits of these mechanisms in natural and anthropogenically influenced environments, and on conservation strategies that take these into account. The Institute fulfils this mission through long-term, application-oriented, interdisciplinary basic research in evolutionary ecology, ecological dynamics, evolutionary genetics, wildlife diseases, reproductive biology and reproductive management.
For it’s Department of Ecological Dynamics, the IZW is seeking to appoint a part-time paid Student Assistant Job for the topic:
Vector-borne disease ecology and birds in human-modified landscapes
The data on moving individuals is collected at increasingly high temporal and spatial resolution. Such technical advances allow tracking several moving individuals simultaneously, which allows assessing fine-scale differences in movement behavior imposed by pathogen load. In this project we aim to capture, sample and tag passerines in the field in Berlin and Brandenburg, take care of sample logistics and lab analyses.
Requirements:
- Enrollment at a German university (Bachelor/Master) in biology or comparable course of study; students enrolled in programs focusing on computer sciences, information systems and programming (or similar) with personal interest in biology are encouraged to apply.
- Documented field experience with capturing, sampling and handling birds;
- Documented movement ecology background;
- Experience with tagging animals;
- Experience with processing samples in the field and lab;
- High motivation, flexibility and ability to work in an international team;
- Willingness to work outside normal working hours (early morning);
- Good basis in R programming language;
- Good command of English, both written and spoken;
The position will will be preferably filled by May 1st, 2025 and is initially limited until 31.07.2025. Working hours are a minimum of 10 and maximum of 19 hours per week, with salary of 13,69 euros per hour. The actual amount of hours can be negotiated.
The work will be supervised by Prof. Dr. Kramer-Schadt and Marius Grabow. Enquiries or questions should be directed to Marius Grabow by email grabow@izw-berlin.de.
We welcome applications regardless of gender, origin, sexual orientation and religion. Disabled persons will be given preferential consideration in case of equal suitability. The IZW lives the principles enshrined by the German “Charta of Diversity” (Charta der Vielfalt), has a diversity and inclusion strategy, is "Total-E-Quality" certified, promotes equality and actively supports a work-life balance. We promote diversity, so please convince us with your quality and competence.
How to apply:
Go to Vacancies/Jobs on our homepage (www.leibniz-izw.de) and click on this advertisement and then on "Apply Online". Please send us your complete and informative application, which includes: 1) a letter of motivation highlighting particular skills for this position (maximum 1 page) incl. your earliest possible starting date and desired working hours per week, 2) a CV (maximum 3 pages), 3) copies of relevant degrees, 4) proof of university enrolment and 5) contact details (email address and telephone) of a person who can provide a reference. With fully prepared documents, your online application will take 10-15 minutes. Applications received by March 1st, 2025 will be considered in any case. Re-entrants are welcome!
We are looking forward to your application!
