Postdoctoral Scholar: Quantifying and informing management of coastal squeeze

Description

The University of Washington is seeking a full-time (100% FTE) postdoctoral research scholar to join the 2025-2027 Future of Species Range Shifts cohort as part of the Climate Adaptation Postdoctoral (CAP) Fellows Program, hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey Climate Adaptation Science Centers. The successful applicant will conduct research related to the impact of human and natural barriers on inland range shifts of coastal species and ecosystems in response to sea-level rise (i.e., coastal squeeze). They will also join eight other postdocs from around the country to conduct a national synthesis project related to species range shifts.

The successful candidate will be based at the UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences and will work closely with partners at the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, Oregon State University and a transdisciplinary team of scientists and coastal managers from Washington and Oregon. This position will be a 12-month appointment, with renewal for an additional 12 months based on performance for a total of two years. The preferred start is sometime in the summer of 2025.

The postdoctoral researcher will undertake quantitative analysis and data syntheses to develop models and maps that assess the potential impact of rising sea levels on coastal species and ecosystems. They will coordinate working groups to engage science and management partners to determine which species, systems, and locations should be of particular focus, and which analyses and products may be most useful to inform management of coastal squeeze. They will assemble and analyze relevant datasets, such as sea-level rise projections, topographic and bathymetric data, and other spatial data layers representing land cover, coastal development, and shoreline armoring. Because this project aims to co-produce actionable science to inform management of coastal squeeze in the Northwest, the successful candidate will need to work in close collaboration with science and management partners from Oregon and Washington.

About the Climate Adaptation Postdoctoral (CAP) Fellows Program

The U.S. Geological Survey Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs) are building the next generation of science leaders through the Climate Adaptation Postdoctoral (CAP) Fellows Program. The CAP Fellows Program sponsors cohorts of post-doctoral researchers for two-years to conduct regional-to-national scale analyses of emerging climate research needs centered around one theme. The unifying theme for this cohort is the Future of Species Range Shifts. The program will include nine postdoctoral fellows distributed across the country, with one fellow based in each of the nine Regional CASCs. Each postdoctoral candidate will work with their PI(s) and associated leaders in the field to lead a regionally relevant project pertaining to the mechanisms and implications of climate-mediated range shifts. 

Concurrently with the regional project, the Fellows will participate in an independent national-scale synthesis effort on the cohort’s unifying theme, the Future of Species Range Shifts, and gain valuable experience in collaborative research. While the national synthesis topic may relate to the regional research projects, it will typically address nationally pressing research questions related to the cohort topic; synthesize the state of the science on the cohort topic across all CASC regions; and advance our understanding of management-relevant applications of this information. Fellows will conduct much of the national synthesis effort at four in-person workshops, attended by Fellows, facilitators, and other subject matter experts. Two of these workshops are hosted in Santa Barbara, CA by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), a partner of the CAP Fellows Program who provides varied support for the Fellows throughout their program tenure.

As part of the CAP Fellow Program, postdocs will receive extensive training and mentorship on three core areas crucial for their success during the Fellowship and in their future careers: 1) Team Science, 2) Synthesis Science, and 3) Actionable Science. Many of these skills are not taught during standard graduate school curriculums or conventional postdoc positions.