Postdoctoral scholarship (2 years) within food web transfer of pollutants in a changing climate

The Department of  Ecology, Environment and Geoscience is offering a postdoctoral scholarship within the project Cross-ecosystem transfer of Hg in a thawing Arctic. The scholarship is full-time for two years with access 1 February 2026 or by agreement, and is based in Umeå.  Last application date is November 14th, 2025,

The Department of Ecology, Environmental and Geoscience carries out research and postgraduate education in ecology, environmental science and physical geography. The department has about 160 employees, about 30 of whom are postdoctoral researchers. For more information, visit: https://www.umu.se/en/department-of-ecology-and-environmental-science/

Project description
This postdoc scholarship is supported by Umeå Climate Research Impact Centre (CIRC). The project’s goal is to assess the release and transfer of long-stored mercury (Hg) from thawing permafrost. More specifically, the project focuses on the accumulation of Hg within the food web, with specific emphasis on transfer across classic ecosystem boundaries, from aquatic to terrestrial ecosystems. Such cross-ecosystem studies are often overlooked, but are highly relevant from an ecological perspective. The postdoctoral scholarship candidate will study emerging aquatic insects and terrestrial spider communities across a gradient of discontinuous permafrost in the Abisko region, northern Sweden. The part of the project provides an opportunity to investigate: i) the impact of thawing permafrost on aquatic communities, ii) the toxic effects of Hg, and iii) the impact on spider communities.

The postdoctoral scholarship will collaborate with Assistant Prof. Åsa Berglund (Umeå University), Prof. Ryan Sponseller (Umeå University) and Assistant Prof. Carolina Olid (University of Barcelona), a team with expertise in ecotoxicology, aquatic ecology, and cross-ecosystem linkages between terrestrial and aquatic environments, as well as extensive experience working in cold and permafrost thawing conditions.

Qualifications
To qualify as a postdoctoral scholarship holder, the postdoctoral fellow is required to have completed a doctoral degree or a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a doctoral degree. This qualification requirement must be fulfilled no later than at the time of the decision about scholarship recipient.

Priority should be given to candidates who completed their doctoral degree, according to what is stipulated in the paragraph above, no later than three years prior. If there are special reasons, candidates who completed their doctoral degree before that may also be eligible. Special reasons include absence due to illness, parental leave, appointments of trust in trade union organisations, military service or similar circumstances, as well as clinical practice or other forms of appointment/assignment relevant to the subject area. 

Doctoral degree should be within Ecology, Biology, Ecotoxicology, Environmental Science or a related field.

Additional requirements are:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
• Ability to execute and complete research projects
• Ability to think independently and creatively
• Ability to work in within collaborative (team) environments

Meriting criteria are past experience in:

• Identifying invertebrate species
• Working with contaminants
• Conducting field work in remote places and demanding conditions

We are looking for candidates who are curious and driven and who enjoys field work, data exploration and the writing process.

Application
The application should be written in English or Swedish, and attached documents should be in Word or PDF format. The application should be registered via Umeå University’s e-recruitment system Varbi and submitted by the deadline 14 November 2025.

A full application should include:

• A personal Cover letter motivating your application, highlighting your skills applicable for the project (max two pages),
• Curriculum vitae (CV) with publication list. In the publication list, provide a co-author contribution for a selection of maximally five publications,
• Verified copy of doctoral degree certificate or documentation that clarifies when the degree of doctor is expected to be obtained,
• Verified copies of other diplomas, list of completed academic courses and grades,
• Copy of doctoral thesis,
• Other documents that the applicant wishes to claim.
• Contact information to two persons willing to act as references.

About the scholarship
The scholarship is paid directly to the stipend holder, tax free, from the Kempe Foundation. The scholarship is on 720,000 SEK for two years which is 30,000 SEK/month. 

Contact
Any additional questions about the research or application should be directed to Åsa Berglund, Umeå University (asa.berglund@umu.se).

We look forward to receiving your application!