Master’s thesis project: Coastal Ecosystems

Available position: Master’s thesis project:
Spatial variability of intertidal community characteristics across various
St. Lawrence coastal ecosystems
Context: Coastal zones—due to their economic, cultural, and recreational
importance—are some of the most inhabited and human-influenced regions on
the planet. Nonetheless, they contain habitats that fulfill multiple
critical roles for the functioning of marine ecosystems and offer diverse
ecosystem services to humans. Despite this importance, along the St.
Lawrence Estuary and Gulf the mapping of coastal ecosystems is incomplete,
and the provided coastal ecosystem services remain unknown.

Objectives: This project has the aim of: i) estimating the biomass,
productivity, diversity, and carbon storage of diverse coastal ecosystems
along the St. Lawrence Estuary and Gulf, ii) comparing these studied
ecosystems to degraded coastal sites, and iii) establishing genetic links
between the populations of the targeted sites. This work, to be undertaken
in collaboration with four universities, will produce relevant and important
results for coastal ecology and will shed light on the links between
biodiversity and coastal ecosystem functioning and services.

Candidates must have a BSc in biology, marine sciences, environmental
sciences, or another closely related field. Their background must include a
solid academic record with relevant achievements and experience. Candidates
must also demonstrate strong organizational, communication, and scientific
writing skills. The successful candidate will be located at Université du
Québec à Chicoutimi, Canada. Knowledge of French is advantageous but not
obligatory.

The review of candidates will begin in April 2018.
Interested persons are kindly asked to submit their candidacy (by email
only) to: mathieu.cusson@uqac.ca. The submitted email must include:
•       A cover letter explaining the candidate’s interest for this MSc project;
•       A curriculum vitae containing all relevant information for the proper
evaluation of the candidate (including the contact information of two (2)
references).

We will communicate only with those candidates retained for an interview.
This selection process will continue until a suitable candidate has been found.

Mathieu Cusson, Ph. D.
Associate Professor
Département des sciences fondamentales
Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
555, boulevard de l’Université
Chicoutimi (Québec)
G7H 2B1 Canada
Mathieu.Cusson@uqac.ca Web :
http://www.uqac.ca/lasa/en/research-2/marine-biology/