PhD position: Indicators of demographic risk and resilience in wild birds

What you will be doing

We are seeking a talented, enthusiastic, and collaborative PhD candidate to investigate how seasonal environmental change influences population vulnerability and to develop new indicators of demographic risk and resilience in wild bird populations.

When does a population decline begin?
Can impending declines be detected before they become severe?

At first glance, the answer appears obvious: populations start to decline when the number of individuals decreases. But populations often respond slowly to environmental change, and by the time a decline becomes apparent, the processes driving them may have been operating unnoticed for years. Reproductive success may have dropped, survival may have declined during migration, or environmental conditions may have deteriorated during the non‑breeding season. Understanding when populations become vulnerable is one of the central challenges in ecology and conservation.

In this PhD project, you will develop and test new indicators of demographic risk and resilience using long‑term data from wild bird populations. By combining ecological theory, demographic modelling, and time‑series analysis, you will investigate whether seasonal demographic signals and statistical early‑warning indicators reveal population vulnerability before severe declines occur. Drawing on decades of bird monitoring data from around the world—including intensive long‑term studies maintained by the Institute, harmonised data from the SPI‑Birds Network & Database, and other major biodiversity‑monitoring schemes—you will assess the generality of indicators across populations, species, and ecological contexts. The project offers opportunities to collaborate with researchers at several institutions in Europe and North America and to contribute to efforts in biodiversity monitoring, ecological forecasting, and conservation planning.

This project is highly quantitative. During the PhD you will develop skills in population ecology, demographic modelling, ecological forecasting, time‑series analysis, Bayesian statistics, and statistical programming (primarily in R and Stan). You will gain experience working with large, long‑term, multidimensional ecological datasets, developing reproducible analytical workflows, and applying open‑science principles. You will also develop skills in scientific writing and publishing, conference presentations, interdisciplinary collaboration, and communicating complex scientific ideas to diverse audiences.

What you will be contributing

• You hold an MSc degree in ecology, computational ecology, quantitative biology, statistics, or a related discipline (or equivalent quantitative background).
• You are a curious, motivated researcher with a strong interest in population ecology, ecological forecasting, biodiversity monitoring, or demographic modelling.
• You are comfortable working with data and eager to develop advanced skills in statistical modelling and programming.
• Experience with R, Bayesian statistics, demographic modelling, time‑series analysis, or large ecological datasets is an asset but not required.
• You can work independently and collaboratively, communicate clearly in spoken and written English, and are enthusiastic about developing and sharing scientific ideas.
• Affinity with scientific writing, data visualisation, and presentation of research results is highly desirable.
• Fluency in English (CEFR C1 or equivalent) is required.

What we offer?

• A fully funded, four‑year PhD position in the Department of Animal Ecology (initial appointment for one year, extendable by three years after a positive evaluation).
• Working 0.8 FTE (five years total) is possible, although full‑time is preferred.
• Preferred starting date: September 2026.
• Registration as a Promovendus (PhD candidate) at Wageningen University & Research and membership of the PE&RC Graduate School, with access to courses on ecology, research methods, statistics, and transferable skills.
• Opportunities to attend workshops, conferences, weekly seminars, science lunches, and journal clubs.

Your workplace

You will be embedded within the Department of Animal Ecology at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO‑KNAW) in Wageningen, sharing office space with other PhD candidates and joining a dynamic community of senior researchers, postdocs, research assistants, and interns (MSc, HBO). The department comprises seven research groups, primarily working on passerine birds and bats.

In the Department of Animal Ecology we investigate the causes and consequences of variation in life‑history traits, including physiological and genomic mechanisms, and where such variation arises in time and space. Our work leverages long‑term, individually‑based datasets (e.g., hole‑nesting birds and their food resources). Using these exceptional time series we link individual variation in life‑history traits and fitness outcomes to population and community dynamics.

The Institute provides state‑of‑the‑art research infrastructure, high‑performance computing, and expert support staff. We also coordinate the SPI‑Birds Network & Database, which standardises data from a global network of long‑term studies of individually marked breeding birds.

More information

Dr. Joseph Burant
Tenure‑track Researcher, Department of Animal Ecology
j.burant@nioo.knaw.nl

Application procedure

Apply via the Academy’s online application portal. Include:

• A cover letter summarising your research interests, experience, and motivation.
• A CV/résumé detailing your professional and educational background.
• Contact information for two professional referees (name, affiliation, telephone, email).

Application deadline: Wednesday 15 July 2026. The hiring committee will review all applications received by the deadline and, by Monday 20 July, invite a subset of candidates for interviews. Interviews will be online on Thursday 23 and Friday 24 July. Short‑listed candidates may be invited to a follow‑up interview and a visit to NIOO‑KNAW. Alternative arrangements can be discussed if a candidate is unavailable on the scheduled dates.

About NIOO

The Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO) is a national research institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). At NIOO we perform ecological research on biodiversity, climate change, and sustainable use of land and water. We stimulate ecological research in the Netherlands and share our ecological knowledge with society. Everyone in our organisation is passionate about contributing to a sustainable world from their own area of expertise.

Terms of employment

• Salary (full‑time equivalent) : € 3 059 – € 3 881 gross per month (scale P, CAO Nederlandse Universiteiten/KNAW).
• Exclusive of 8 % vacation allowance, 8.3 % year‑end bonus, travel allowance, internet allowance, home‑working allowance, and ABP pension accrual.
• The KNAW offers an excellent secondary‑benefits package, including the possibility to increase annual leave from 29 to 41 days by working an extra two hours per week.
• For a complete overview, see the “Work for the Academy” web page.

Applying for a Certificate of Good Conduct can be part of the employment procedure.

Diversity & Inclusion

The KNAW considers a working environment in which everyone feels welcome and appreciated of great importance. We strive for an inclusive culture that embraces differences. Candidates who can contribute to diversity through their background and experience are especially encouraged to apply. In case of equal suitability, preference will be given to the candidate who enhances diversity within the Academy.

We will not respond to any supplier enquiries based on this job advertisement.