Postdoc Position in Decision Making in Birds

Are you an expert in animal behavior Do you have experience working with birds The Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) is looking for a motivated researcher to investigate the role of irrational choice and decision-making heuristics on aposematic prey choice in great tits. The ideal candidate would have a strong experimental background and an interest in interdisciplinary work.

Join our team!

The position is a 14 month post-doc working in the lab of Emily Burdfield-Steel and in collaboration with Johanna Mappes at the University of Helsinki. The role will involve working in Finland at Lammi research station for part of the year (in winter) in order to carry out experiments with wild-caught great tits. The aim is to test for the presence of the decoy effect when birds are evaluating chemically-defended prey and therefore if predator perception of prey value is context dependent. This project combines classic foraging research with frameworks from marketing theory to understand how the ecological context influences predator behavior and subsequently selection on chemically-defended prey.

What are you going to do

You will work with wild-caught great tits foraging on artificial prey to understand both how they weight prey size and distastefulness as well as how the available options shape their choices. You will conduct learning and preference trials help to design the experimental procedure and analyse and write up the findings for academic publications. You will also be part of the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics and attend group meetings and seminars.

Tasks and responsibilities:

• Carrying out experimental work at Lammi research station (Finland)
• Design and improve experimental protocols
• Data analysis
• Manuscript writing
• Mentoring BSc/MSc students

Your profile

Your experience and profile:

• A PhD degree in behavioral ecology animal behavior or a related field
• Experience with academic publishing
• Experience conductive behavioral research with animals (ideally birds)
• Strong statistical and data analysis skills

Our offer

We offer a temporary employment contract for 38 hours per week for a period of 14 months. The preferred starting date is as soon as possible. For this position the University Job Classification profile Researcher level 4 applies.

The gross monthly salary based on 38 hours per week and dependent on relevant experience ranges between 3546 to 5538 (scale 10). In addition you will receive a 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% year-end allowance.

A favourable tax agreement the 30% ruling may apply to non-Dutch applicants.

The Collective Labour Agreement of Universities of the Netherlands is applicable.

Besides the salary and a vibrant and challenging environment at Science Park we offer you multiple fringe benefits:

• 232 holiday hours per year (based on fulltime) and extra holidays between Christmas and 1 January;
• multiple courses to follow from our Teaching and Learning Centre;
• a complete educational program for PhD students;
• multiple courses on topics such as leadership for academic staff;
• multiple courses on topics such as time management handling stress and an online learning platform with 100 different courses;
• 7 weeks birth leave (partner leave) with 100% salary;
• partly paid parental leave;
• the possibility to set up a workplace at home;
• a pension at ABP for which UvA pays two third part of the contribution;
• the possibility to follow courses to learn Dutch;
• help with registration at UvA- Housing for a studio or small apartment when youre moving from abroad.

Are you curious to read more about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits take a look here.

Where you will work

The Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) is one of eight research institutes of the Faculty of Science at the University of Amsterdam. The research at IBED aims to unravel how ecosystems function in all their complexity and how they change due to natural processes and human activities. At its core lies an integrated systems approach to study biodiversity ecosystems and the environment. IBED adopts this systems approach to ecosystems addressing abiotic (soil and water quality) and biotic factors (ecology and evolution of plants animals and microorganisms) and the interplay between those. The IBED vision includes research encompassing experimental and theoretical approaches at a wide variety of temporal and spatial scales i.e. from molecules and microorganisms to patterns and processes occurring at the global scale. The University of Amsterdam has excellenthigh performance computingfacilities. Furthermore IBED has a dedicatedcomputational support teamwith specialized knowledge of bioinformatics (geo)database management and scientific programming. IBED also works with non-academic partners to deliver transdisciplinary science for society.

The position will be based in the Department of Evolutionary and Population Biology. Evolutionary and Population Biology Research in the department of Evolutionary and Population Biology focuses on understanding the ecological and evolutionary processes that drive community dynamics and speciation and determine biodiversity patterns.

If you feel the profile fits you and you are interested in the job we look forward to receiving your application. You can apply online via the Apply-button on the vacancys webpage. We accept applications until and including 15 October 2025.

Applications should include the following information (all files besides your cv should be submitted in one single pdf file):

• a detailed CV including the months (not just years) when referring to your education and work experience;
• a letter of motivation;
• a list of publications;
• the names and email addresses of two references who can provide letters of recommendation.

Only complete applications received within the response period via the link below will be considered. A knowledge security check can be part of the selection procedure.(for details: national knowledge security guidelines). Theinterviews will be held in late October/early November. We will invite potential candidates for interviews soon after the closing date.

Do you have any questions or do you require additional information

Please contact Emily Burdfield-Steel T: 31