Job Description

The Institute of Zoology and Anthropology at the University of Göttingen is offering a

PhD position (f/m/d)

with 65 % of a full position. Regular working hours will currently be 25.87 hours per week with a limited contract of 3 years. This position should be filled by 01 January 2026. Salary:

Pay grade E13 TV-L

.




The position is part of the DFG-ISF funded German – Israel joint project “Testing the energy limitation hypothesis on desert brown food-webs” between the University of Göttingen, Germany, and the Dead Sea and Arava Science Center, Israel.


The project analyzes the Energy Limitation Hypothesis of food webs focusing on “brown” food webs based on the input of dead organic matter along a rainfall and plant productivity gradient in Israel.




For information on the Animal Ecology Group of the University of Göttingen see http://www.uni-goettingen.de/animal-ecology; for information on the Arava Science Center see https://arava.org.

Your duties

As part of a team of 2 PhD students the Research Assistant will investigate soil associated invertebrates focusing on the trophic organization of food webs. The trophic structure will be investigated using a combination of techniques including community and body size structure, natural variations of stable isotopes of 13C and 15N, and compound-specific analysis of stable isotopes in amino acids. The project combines work in the field and laboratory.

Your profile

You hold a completed master/diploma degree in biological sciences or a closely related field. You have a background or strong interest in the ecology of invertebrates and the structure of food webs. You are experienced in doing field and lab work. You are curious exploring the driving factors of the structure of invertebrate food webs. You are interested in exploring trophic interactions using analytical approaches such as stable isotope analysis. You have experience in analyzing genomic data using R. You have good oral and written English language skills. You are interested in teaching, supervising and working with students.


This post is designed to serve in fostering young researchers and scientists and give the successful applicant the opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree.




The University of Göttingen is an equal opportunities employer and places particular emphasis on fostering career opportunities for women. Qualified women are therefore strongly encouraged to apply in fields in which they are underrepresented. The university has committed itself to being a family-friendly institution and supports their employees in balancing work and family life. The University is particularly committed to the professional participation of severely disabled employees and therefore welcomes applications from severely disabled people. In the case of equal qualifications, applications from people with severe disabilities will be given preference. A disability or equality is to be included in the application in order to protect the interests of the applicant.




Please send your application as one pdf document including motivation letter, CV, publication list, transcript of Master’s certificate and English proficiency certificates by

20 October 2025 to Prof. Dr. Stefan Scheu, e-mail:

sscheu@gwdg.de

.

If you have any questions, please contact

Prof. Dr. Stefan Scheu (phone: +49 (0)551 3925445, e-mail:

sscheu@gwdg.de)

.

Please note:

With submission of your application, you accept the processing of your applicant data in terms of data-protection law. Further information on the legal basis and data usage is provided in the https://uni-goettingen.de/GDPR