Les missions du poste
Closing date for receipt of applications : 09/06/2025
The Ifremer unit, which is part of the MARBEC Joint Research Unit (https://umr-marbec.fr), conducts research on marine biodiversity, its uses and conservation, with a particular emphasis on fisheries ecology and sustainable aquaculture, and evolutionary ecology. In this context, the team at the Laboratoire Évolution et Génétique des Populations Marines (LEGPM) specializes in genomic approaches to describe the diversity and evolution of populations/species/ecosystems and is developing research activities in two areas : (i) understanding and predicting the Darwinian evolution of natural or exploited marine biocenoses and ecosystem services and (ii) developing new approaches to the study of marine biodiversity. The Lifedeeper project (https://lifedeeper.ifremer.fr), is a collaborative effort to characterize benthic communities associated or not with hydrothermal activity by metabarcoding of environmentalDNA (eDNA) extracted from deep-sea sediments.
Located on two sites (Montpellier and Sète), the LEGPM team has access to numerous molecular biology platforms including an eDNA laboratory, and the Ifremer DATARMOR computational server.
Reporting to the Laboratory Manager (LEGPM) and the PI of Lifedeeper project, you will work under the scientific responsibility of Sophie Arnaud-Haond and under the remote co-supervision of the Lifeedeeper the project leader (Marie-Anne Cambon, Brest), in collaboration with a specialist in deep-sea ecology (Lenaick Menot, Brest), on the characterization of deep-sea communities based on metabarcoding data (bioinformatic and biostatistical analysis).
Main tasks
Deep-sea benthic communities and environmental drivers in and around hydrothermal vents of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge explored by multi-marker metabarcoding of environmental DNA.
Context
Deep-sea biodiversity inhabits more than half Earth's surface and remains largely unknown. New molecular approaches based on environmental DNA can enhance our exploration of this vast biome to better understand the extent of deep-sea diversity and how its distribution is shaped by environmental and biogeographic parameters. This knowledge gap is particularly important to fill in the context of increasing anthropogenic pressures on the deep SEA, including the ongoing growing prospects of deep-sea mining.
While the biodiversity inhabiting active hydrothermal vents have been the subject of numerous expeditions and studies for about half a century, the fauna inhabiting inactive sites and the benthic fauna in the surrounding abyssal areas are still largely unknown and may have different characteristics requiring specific conservation measures and impact assessment in the context of deep-sea mining.
Aims of the position
You will work, in this context, on data generated by Lifedeeper project and collected during the BICOSE3 cruise on the Mid Atlantic Ridge, particularly within and in the vicinity of areas associated with exploration mining permits, including active and inactive hydrothermal fields and the abyssal surrounding. You will BE tasked with characterising deep-sea benthic communities associated or not with hydrothermal activity, based on bioinformatic and biostatistical analysis of eDNA metabarcode data from 5 primer sets designed to cover both microbial (prokaryote and protist) and animal (i.e. animalia/metazoan) diversity with protocols and reference data developed during the eDNAbyss project. The aims of the study are i) to test the hypothesis of a differential distribution of the communities of these different lineages within the hydrothermal fields and in their periphery, as well as within and outside the ridge/dorsal, ii) to identify, if present, the lineages that may represent a signature of hydrothermal activity or specifically characterised biogeochemical processes and iii) to decipher patterns of species association within the assemblages characterised under specific biogeochemical conditions.
Main activities
- Bioinformatic analysis of metabarcode
- Biostatistical analyses in community ecology
- Writing scientific articles
Working conditions
- 100% activity rate
- Post-doctorate (18 months)
L'adresse du poste
Localisez l'entreprise et calculez votre temps de trajet en un clic !
Calculer mon temps de trajet
Le profil recherché
Profile required
- The candidate will have obtained a PhD in deep-sea ecology and/or community ecology, and will have previous experience in metabarcode data analysis.
- PhD obtained within the last 3 years.
Technical skills/ Scientific background
Technical skills/ profession
Knowledge and skills
- Strong knowledge of community ecology and biostatistics
- Experience in bioinformatics analysis
- Previous experience in deep-sea benthic ecology will BE appreciated
- Organizational skills.
- Written and spoken English
Personal qualities
- People skills
- Autonomy
- Sense of teamwork
Bienvenue chez Ifremer
Join Ifremer, an ally of planetary well-being, to gain a better understanding of and better protection for the ocean.
From the abyss to the surface, from the coast to the open SEA, Ifremer is the French research institute that is wholly dedicated to the Ocean. Its teams carry out research, innovate and produce expert reports to protect the ocean, exploit its resources in a responsible manner and shares marine data.
Ifremer contributes its scientific expertise to throw light on public policies and develops solutions drawn from the ocean to meet the challenges of the ecological transition. Ifremer is the operator of France's oceanographic fleet with its shipbuilding subsidiary Genavir, and imagines, designs and deploys leading edge technological means to solve the ocean's mysteries.
Join our teams, made up of 1500 scientists and research support staff, present all along the coastal areas of France and French overseas territories.
www.ifremer.fr
Infos complémentaires
How do I apply?
Please attach your CV and covering letter in a single pdf document.
What are your benefits?
- We have a teleworking agreement and our staff have 12 comp time days and supra statutory leave.
- We allocate a significant budget to developing skills, through individual or collective training actions.
- We have a CSR policy inspired by the purposes of the institute (sustainable mobility allowance, etc.)
