Research Fellow in Urban Ecology

As cities continue to expand, urban ecosystems increasingly have to be managed for the benefit of both people and biodiversity. However, cities are evolving rapidly, often as a result of technological innovation alongside societal change. Understanding ecological responses to these rapid transitions is an emerging research field.

As a Research Fellow in Urban Ecology, you will join the ‘Self-Repairing Cities’ research project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). By developing robots that monitor and repair built infrastructure, Self-Repairing Cities aims to promote their widespread use. Such technological innovation will transform human society and the natural environment. For instance, less traffic and better maintained infrastructure could lead to lower levels of pollution (air, noise, light, water, which negatively affect biodiversity and ecosystem functioning) and/or larger areas to devote to green spaces. On the other hand, novel technologies may introduce new, and as yet unknown, threats to biodiversity.

Understanding how urban ecosystems will change in response to technological innovation is a novel and exciting field. To tackle this research area, you will work closely with engineers and economists to design and implement a programme of empirical data collection to determine how the impacts of urbanisation and pollution on ecosystems, habitats and species might change as we enter a robotic age. Depending on the expertise of the successful candidate, the research could entail ecosystem ecology, landscape/spatial ecology, population ecology, community ecology, behavioural ecology, movement ecology, or a combination of these.

With a PhD (or close to completion) in ecology, biodiversity conservation, environmental science or an allied subject, you will have experience of designing and implementing programmes of empirical data collection and analysis. You may also be familiar with performing literature reviews, gathering and synthesising evidence. You will have excellent written and verbal communication skills, as well as the ability to work with people from of other disciplines and non-academic partners.

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact:

Dr Martin Dallimer, Associate Professor in Environmental Change

Tel: +44 (0)113 343 3036, email: m.dallimer@leeds.ac.uk