Environmental productivity of the Salish Sea: Two PhD student opportunities in ecological modelling at Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, The University of British Columbia

The two PhD student opportunities (PhDs) are to work on a research project at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (http://oceans.ubc.ca) conducted in cooperation with the Pacific Salmon Foundation (https://www.psf.ca). The study, Environmental Productivity Patterns of the Salish Sea, seeks to determine the primary factors affecting the survival of juvenile salmon and steelhead in the Salish Sea, and is conducted as part of the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project (SSMSP, http://marinesurvivalproject.com). This project seeks to understand how the environmental productivity of the Sea has changed over the half century along with the consequential impacts throughout the ecosystem.

One of the PhDs will be responsible for the development of a spatial ecosystem model of the Salish Sea based on the Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) approach and software, building on previous work in the area along with the extensive databases that have been built as part of the SSMSP (http://sogdatacentre.ca).

The other PhD will further develop an individual based model (IBM) of juvenile salmon survival and distribution patterns in the Salish Sea, which will obtain hydrographic and biogeochemical information from a GETM/FABM (http://www.getm.eu, https://sourceforge.net/projects/fabm/) model of the Salish Sea that will be built as part of the project as well as food web information from the EwE model that is being developed through the same overall activity.

More information, including how to apply: http://oceans.ubc.ca/two-2-phd-student-opportunities/

Regards,

Katherine Came
Communications Manager
Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
Faculty of Science, The University of British Columbia Aquatic Ecosystems Research Laboratory Rm. 239, 2202 Main Mall Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4
(604) 827-4325

k.came@oceans.ubc.ca<mailto:k.came@oceans.ubc.ca>

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