Inspire4Nature: 15 PhD positions (deadline: 16th April 2018)

This project will explore the positive and negative interactions between Sustainable Development Goals/Targets to understand to what extent the achievement of some goals will affect the others. Based at Sapienza Università di Roma (Rome, Italy), with secondments to UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (Cambridge, UK; 8.8 months), and University College London (London, UK; 2 months). Full details.

This project will investigate the changes in taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of terrestrial vertebrates under future scenarios of global change. Based at University College London (London, UK) with secondments to the Zoological Society of London (London, UK; 10.8 months). Full details.

This project aims at assigning species to archetypes of life-history traits, and project changes in extinction risk under plausible scenarios. Based at Sapienza Università di Roma (Rome, Italy), with a secondment to BirdLife International (Cambridge, UK; 6 months). Full details.

This project will develop and apply methods to estimate the impact of conservation through population models and counterfactual analyses of population trends in absence of conservation. Based at University College London (London, UK), with secondments to the Zoological Society of London (London, UK; 10.8 months). Full details.

This project will quantify the contribution of conservation measures in general – and of protected areas in particular – to reducing species’ risk of extinction. Based at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (Montpellier, France), with secondments to BirdLife International (Cambridge UK; 3.5 months) and UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (Cambridge, UK; 3.5 months). Full details.

This project will evaluate the extent to which invasive alien species affect protected areas in Europe, and investigate which factors explain variations in how different Protected Areas are affected. Based at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (Montpellier, France), with secondments to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (Cambridge UK; 3.5 months) and UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (Cambridge, UK; 3.5 months). Full details.

This project will explore relationships between Red List Indices at national, European, and global scales, building from re-assessment of extinction risk of all European freshwater fishes. Based at the Leibniz-Institut für Gewässerökologie und Binnenfischerei (Berlin, Germany), with secondments to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (Cambridge UK; 8 months). Full details.

Assessing the changing state of global biodiversity efficiently and robustly demands an understanding of the species and locations for which we need new data. This project will explore whether approaches may allow us to broaden and accelerate our assessments of biodiversity trends in extinction risk and population abundance. Based at University College London (London, UK) with secondments to the Zoological Society of London (London, UK; 10.8 months). Full details.

This project will explore what factors influence the indicator of protected area coverage of freshwater and terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas, using Greece, one of the most biodiverse European countries, as a case study. Based at the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (Anavyssos, Greece), with secondments to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (Cambridge, UK; 7.8 months) and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Athens, Greece; 3 months). Full details.

This project will build on and further strengthen the World Database on Protected Areas as well as advance the understanding of the dynamics in the global protected area estate. Based at the University of Copenhagen (Copenhagen, Denmark), with secondments to UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (Cambridge, UK; 10.8 months). Full details.

This project will examine and assess the contribution of conservation areas outside formal protected areas to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. Based at the University of Copenhagen (Copenhagen, Denmark), with secondments to UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (Cambridge, UK; 7.8 months) and BirdLife International (Cambridge, UK; 3 months). Full details.

This project will use species data for Key Biodiversity Areas in at least 10 Biodiversity Hotspots worldwide to develop predictions of where as-yet-undescribed KBAs may exist. Based at Sapienza Università di Roma (Rome, Italy), with secondments to BirdLife International (Cambridge, UK; 10.8 months). Full details.

This project will investigate the causes of recent declines of Afro-Palearctic migratory birds using satellite-tracking and other novel techniques. Based at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (Montpellier, France), with secondments to BirdLife International (Cambridge, UK; 10 months) and to Instituto Superior de Agronomia (Lisbon, Portugal; 0.8 months), and in collaboration with RSPB and BTO (UK). Full details

This project will use tracking data to investigate the effectiveness of the current network of important sites for marine biodiversity (e.g. MPAs, EBSAS) in conserving seabirds. It will be based at ISPA-Instituto Universitário (Lisbon, Portugal), with a secondment to BirdLife International (Cambridge UK; 10.8 months). Full details