PhD: The second stage of recovery from the end-Permian mass extinction: Ecology, diversity partitioning, and rank-abundance distributions in Middle Triassic marine level-bottom communities

The project seeks to better understand the ecological and evolutionary processes that govern the late phase of biotic recovery from the greatest Phanerozoic mass extinction event. It builds-up on previous research on the recovery of benthic marine communities during the Early Triassic (see list of publications at http://www.pim.uzh.ch/institut/mitarbeitende/index.php?show=78&get=pu). The work will include collection of quantitative faunal data in Anisian-Ladinian marine sediments, their statistical analyses, and palaeoecological and palaeobiological interpretation with respect to macroevolutionary models. Qualifications. Mandatory requirements include a master’s degree in geology or biology, experience in fieldwork, the ability to work in mountainous regions, a high degree of initiative and motivation, capacity for teamwork, very good English skills, and basic knowledge of statistics. Desirable are a background in invertebrate palaeontology and/or sedimentology, and a driving license. Please send your cv, cover letter, and a copy of your Master thesis (in a reasonable file size!) electronically to michael.hautmann@pim.uzh.ch.