Analysis and Selection of Modeling Tools for Coastal Marine Social-Ecosystems in the Southwestern Indian Ocean
Date de création : 07 January 2025
Date d'expiration : 27 January 2025
Date d'expiration : 27 January 2025
Postdoctoral job - 18 months
Location : UMR MARBEC Sète ou UMR ENTROPIE La Réunion
Context and motivations
The TP3 BRIDGES-AVATAR project aims to deliver, within 6 years, components of a digital avatar to simulate the dynamics of coastal social-ecological systems studied transversally by various BRIDGES targeted projects, explicitely integrating fisheries. This avatar should improve understanding of system functioning and resilience to global changes and anticipate a set of system transformation scenarios to address spatial management challenges for each BRIDGES coastal site. This digital development may rely on one or more existing or new models. To identify the most suitable modeling approach, it is essential to conduct a concerted analysis of each site's challenges, previous modeling exercises, and existing modeling tools that could meet the needs considering available resources (skills, budget, time, data, etc.) in the project.Postdoc Missions
The work will be structured around 6 missions for each of the 4 coastal sites of the BRIDGES program:- Analyze the issues, questions, objectives, and available data for each of the coastal sites of the BRIDGES Research Program.
- Develop evaluation criteria considering the specificities of each site.
- Conduct a scientific literature review on existing social-ecological modeling tools for spatial management and/or decision support (in terrestrial and marine environments) to learn about models for uses, scales, approaches, datapoor contexts, and links between marine and terrestrial environments.
- Develop a critical evaluation framework for social-ecological modeling tools (development, implementation, and use) through surveys with model developers and users to gather their experience on identified tools and evaluate the effectiveness and relevance of different models.
- Identify a relevant social-ecological model (or set of models) for each BRIDGES site using the evaluation framework.
- Valorize the knowledge review on one side and the evaluation framework on the other in two publications in international peerreviewed journals.
Required Skills
- PhD or PhD + post-doc
- PhD with experience in quantitative modeling of complex systems in marine or terrestrial science
- Experience in qualitative modeling welcome
- Mastery of survey methods and bibliographic research tools
- Ability to synthesize and communicate complex information
- Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and French
- Experience working in Southern countries, particularly in the Indian Ocean (asset)
- Knowledge of issues related to coastal and marine management
Personal Qualities
- Strong transdisciplinary integration capacity
- Collaborative spirit and teamwork ability
- Scientific rigor and organization
- Adaptability and intercultural sensitivity
- Excellent intercultural communication skills
- Ability to work effectively in multicultural contexts
- Knowledge of socio-economic and environmental issues specific to the Indian Ocean region (asset)
Collaboration and interactions
The postdoctoral researcher will work closely with BRIDGES targeted projects teams, notably:- TP1-Information and TP2-Observation for aspects related to data and observatories
- TP5-Co-production for issues and links with local actors
- TP4-Resilience for identifying processes of interest.
Working conditions
- Duration: 18month postdoctoral contract
- Location: UMR MARBEC Sète or UMR ENTROPIE La Réunion (to be discussed), with travel in mainland France and the southwestern Indian Ocean
- Work stays in study sites of the project
- Participation in scientific and dissemination events organized in the region
- Salary: According to public service salary scales, variable depending on experience
- Start date: April 2025.