Postdoctoral Associate: Evaluating Pinyon Jay population status and correlates of decline, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Center for Avian Population Studies

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

College of Agriculture & Life Sciences

Cornell University

Ithaca, New York

Postdoctoral Associate: Evaluating Pinyon Jay population status and correlates of decline

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) is a pioneer of purpose-driven science and Cornell University's second largest college. We work across disciplines to tackle the challenges of our time through world-renowned research, education, and outreach. The questions we probe and the answers we seek focus on three overlapping concerns: We believe that achieving next-generation scientific breakthroughs requires an understanding of the world's complex, interlocking systems. We believe that access to nutritious food and a healthy environment is a fundamental human right. We believe that ensuring a prosperous global future depends on the ability to support local people and communities everywhere. By working in and across multiple scientific areas, CALS can address challenges and opportunities of the greatest relevance, here in New York, across the nation, and around the world.

About us

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is the world's leading resource for conservation, research, education, and citizen science focused on birds. The Lab is a unit within Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), where full-time faculty and other renowned professionals direct twelve world-class, mission-driven programs. The Center for Avian Population Studies (CAPS) is one of the major programmatic units at the Lab, collecting and disseminating biodiversity data to enhance the information and decision-making tools available to conservationists and scientific researchers. We achieve this by producing scientific, computational, and big data resources that transform how we understand and protect the world around us.

The Cornell Lab is home to a vibrant community of several dozen postdoctoral associates working across programs. We strive to provide a supportive and collaborative environment for this community that fosters personal growth and career advancement. The Lab is an inclusive community, and we recognize that diverse, inclusive communities create more innovative and impactful work to address global challenges and benefit humanity and nature. The Cornell Lab is committed to fostering and sustaining a healthy workplace that values diverse and inclusive perspectives and backgrounds and supports growth and advancement opportunities. The Lab believes that every team member enriches our diversity by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and discover, design, and deliver solutions.

Position Function

We seek a Postdoctoral Associate with experience in statistical modeling who is also interested in natural resource decision-making and species conservation. The successful candidate will use data products from eBird Status and Trends (https://science.ebird.org), combined with datasets from field surveys and remote sensing, to map Pinyon Jay distributions and investigate potential factors behind population change. The specific focus of the project will include (a) testing the association between eBird-based population trends and habitat conditions, and (b) exploring avenues for combining information sources from eBird with data from other monitoring programs. As such, the successful candidate will work closely with researchers both at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the USDA Forest Service to address information needs while gaining valuable experience working on a large-scale, multi-agency problem. The postdoctoral associate will be advised by Dr. Viviana Ruiz-Gutierrez in close collaboration with Dr. Andrew Stillman at the Cornell Lab, and by Dr. Gavin Jones at the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station.

Project objectives include:

• Identify the shape and strength of associations between habitat variables and Pinyon Jay population trends, map these effects across the species' range, and simulate potential responses to landscape change using existing approaches.
• Explore avenues for combining information streams from eBird with results from professional monitoring programs to improve species distribution models.
• Collaborate with the USDA Forest Service and other agencies to assess prospective data sources to combine with eBird-based analysis. This may include developing maps of habitat variables from remote sensing platforms and analyzing data from field surveys.
• The applied nature of this research means that the postdoctoral associate will work with land managers from the USDA Forest Service (National Forest System) and beyond while collaborating within the Conservation Science program at the Cornell Lab. We encourage postdoctoral associates to explore related research questions and collaborate on projects conducted at the Lab and with partners to support their career development.

Anticipated Division of Time

• Develop methods for and applications of eBird and eBird data products (e.g., relative abundance and population trend estimates from the eBird Status & Trends project) to meet project goals (45%).

• Prepare peer reviewed papers and other research products. Present results at professional meetings, conferences, and popular seminars. (25%)

• Engage and communicate with partners in conservation and research. Participate in career and professional development opportunities. (10%)

• Engage in ongoing academic and intellectual life within the Conservation Science and Information Science Programs at the Lab of Ornithology and Cornell University, and with external partners. (10%)

• Participate in general project management and working directly with internal and external project collaborators. (5%)

• Perform related projects and special duties as assigned. Establish and maintain a safe, productive, and respectful working environment that fosters a culture of inclusivity and teamwork. Create and promote an environment that fosters diversity, equity, and inclusion in all endeavors. (5%)

Term of position

This is a one-year appointment, renewable for up to three years conditional on available funding and successful work.

Requirements

• PhD in quantitative ecology, applied statistics, or a related field with strong background in statistics and model development.

• Experience with R and analyzing spatial datasets.

• Ability to apply quantitative methods to answer ecological questions or hypotheses.

• Record of success conducting research and scholarly activities, including publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentation at scientific conferences.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience developing reproducible workflows (e.g., coding scripts compatible with the program R).
• Experience related to using citizen science and/or opportunistic data sources.

• Experience in wildlife ecology/ornithology.

Salary, rewards, and benefits:

Salary is commensurate with experience, $56,484 to $68,000 per year, and includes benefits. The successful candidate will also receive travel funds for a trip to collaborators in Albuquerque, NM. Annual salaries are subject to the Cornell University annual salary improvement program.

Personnel will have the flexibility to work on a hybrid schedule with opportunities to work on-site and from home. The candidate's availability to join the vibrant on-site community in Ithaca, NY is a plus, although fully remote work may be considered on a case-by-case basis within the U.S. International candidates must be willing to relocate to the Ithaca area.

Benefits provided by Cornell include a broad range of comprehensive health care options, generous paid leave provisions: 3 weeks of vacation, 13 holidays (including end of year winter break), paid family leave, and superior retirement contributions. Additionally, Cornell provides access to professional development initiatives, wellness programs, and employee discounts with local and national retail brands.

To apply:

Please apply via Academic Jobs Online (https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/27198).

Qualified candidates should submit a short cover letter, curriculum vitae, contact information for three references, and a statement supporting diverse communities (this can be a stand-alone document (preferred) or the information can be embedded in other parts of the application materials) outlining how, through research, teaching, service, mentoring, extension, and/or outreach, the candidate has and will contribute to support Cornell's historical mission of "any person ... any study," via the website.

Applications will be reviewed as received, continuing until a suitable applicant is identified. The ideal start date for this position is Fall of 2024.

CALS hiring range for this title is $56,484 to $68,000.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

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Cornell University embraces diversity and seeks candidates who will contribute to a climate that supports students, faculty, and staff to all identities and backgrounds. We strongly encourage individuals from underrepresented and/or marginalized identities to apply.

Pay Range:

Pay Ranges:

The hiring rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined considering the following criteria:

• Prior relevant work or industry experience.

• Education level to the extent education is relevant to the position.

• Academic Discipline (faculty pay ranges reflects 9-month annual salary)

• Unique applicable skills.

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EEO Statement:

Diversity and Inclusion are a part of Cornell University's heritage. We are a recognized employer and educator valuing AA/EEO, and we do not tolerate discrimination based on any protected characteristic, including race, ethnic or national origin, citizenship and immigration status, color, sex/gender, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, age, creed, religion, actual or perceived disability (including persons associated with such a person), arrest and/or conviction record, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender expression and/or identity, an individual's genetic information, domestic violence victim status, familial status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. We also recognize a lawful preference in employment practices for Native Americans living on or near Indian reservations in accordance with applicable law.

Cornell University embraces diversity and seeks candidates who will contribute to a climate that supports students, faculty, and staff to all identities and backgrounds. We encourage individuals from underrepresented and/or marginalized identities to apply.