Diksha an Anouk were recently on board of the Mare Nigrum on a sampling expedition on the Black Sea, together with Bianca Pavel from GeoEcoMar.
We are very happy and will keep up the good spirit.
Part of the PRIDE group plus partners after the mid-term review at the presentation of the new book of Salomon Kroonenberg called Spiegelzee.
PRIDE proudly presents the identfication sheet to the most characteristic mollusk species of the Black Sea. We invite everybody to participate in the PRIDE project by uploading observations to the iNaturalist portal. Find pdfs of the identification sheets in four different languages on this page.
To engage with citizen scientists the PRIDE project has developed an identification sheet to the most chararcteristic mollusks of the Black Sea. The identification sheet covers species that occur in the Black Sea, Estuarine-coastal lake areas - the typical Pontocaspian habitat, and in fresh water habitats. The identification sheet also has a short manual on how to upload your observations to the iNaturalist portal and allows everybody to particpate in PRIDE and to enrich the dataset available to biodiversity science in the Black Sea.
The purpose of the leaflet is: (1) Raise awareness of the uniqueness of Pontocaspian biodiversity and the current biodiversity crisis in different target groups. (2) Collect data on recent distribution of the Pontocaspian, Marine, Freshwater and invasive mollusk species in Northern Black Sea through the joint efforts of citizen scientists. This will help us update our distribution maps on our taxonomic platform: PC-Tax (www.mollusca.myspecies.info) whereupon we will be able to identify the areas of follow up action.
We are very pleased that WWF Ukraine has become a partner in PRIDE. WWF Ukraine will be advisor to our PRIDE project. WWF Ukraine Project officer for Danube/Freshwater Ms. Nataliia Gozak will be advising us on outreach activities in general and will help us organizing outreach activities in Ukraine.
Nataliia Gozak is also involved in the Life for Danube Sturgeons (LIFE+ project). Nataliia Gozak aims to enhance inter-project cooperation, networking and leveraging the results in both the Sturgeons and PRIDE project.
The Life for Danube Sturgeons project for “Sustainable protection of lower Danube sturgeons by preventing and counteracting poaching and illegal wildlife trade” is coordinated by WWF Austria and implemented in Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine from October 2016 until December 2020. The project is financed with the contribution of the LIFE financial instrument of the European Community and by WWF.
This is a follow up of the Sturgeons - protect Danube's treasures project for “Joint actions to raise awareness on overexploitation of Danube sturgeons in Romania and Bulgaria” that ran from July 2012 to September 2015 and aimed to tackle overfishing, the main direct threat to the survival of Danube sturgeons.
We are very happy to announce that SSC-RAS and CEREGE have become partners in the PRIDE programme in March 2017. The Southern Scientific Centre of Russian Academy of Sciences (SSC RAS) will be represented by dr. Vadim Titov. He will help us organize the Network Training Event in Rostov on Don and Astrakhan in August 2017, together with prof. Tamara Yanina of the Lomonosov Moscow State University.
CEREGE, Centre Europeen de Recherche et d'Enseignements des Geosciences de l'Environment, in Aix-Marseille, will be represented by dr. Francoise Chalie and prof. Suzanne Leroy. They will be program advisors and Manuel Sala Perez will join them on his secondment at CEREGE.
We are happy to announce that Tom Hoyle started as the new early stage researcher in the field of marine palynology at the Utrecht University. He started on 1 January 2017 and he will be supervised by dr. Francesca Sangiorgi.
The PRIDE outreach plan (deliverable D4.3) is avaliable here.
For the Marie-Curie Training Network PRIDE (Drivers of Pontocaspian biodiversity Rise and Demise) we are seeking an Early Stage Researcher (ESR) in the field of marine palynology. The PRIDE program (www.pontocaspian.eu) combines climate-, geo- and bio-sciences and is conducted by 15 ESRs. From 2015 to 2019 we investigate the evolution and demise of lake systems and biota in the Black Sea, Caspian Sea and surrounding basins. Due to the leave of one of the ESRs we are seeking a new ESR for the period of maximum 25 months.
You will be working on the project: Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions and lake basin dynamics: a dinoflagellate approach.
You will be hosted at the University of Utrecht in Utrecht, The Netherlands, for a period of maximum 25 months. Your job will be to perform the research project and to participate in an extensive training programme that includes five network training events (NTE’s), paid for by the program. During your project you will also be performing one or two secondment(s), a period where you will work in one of the cooperating institutes.
You will be employed as a junior researcher and will have a contract period of maximum 25 months. You will reconstruct palaeoenvironmental conditions in Quaternary Pontocaspian lakes from biological proxies in order to assess basin connectivity and dynamics in the Black Sea, Caspian Sea and Anatolian lakes in the past ~3 Ma. Dinoflagellates are part of the phytoplankton and produce cysts that are well preserved in the Pontocaspian fossil record. The dinocysts will be used to assess changes in palaeoenvironmental conditions during the Plio-Pleistocene and Holocene in the Black Sea, Caspian Sea and Anatolian lakes. Main aim is to improve the understanding of the biogeographical connections and catchment dynamics of the basins. Possible drivers of turnover (isolation and/or rapid environmental change) will be explored further in conjunction with data obtained from the other projects in PRIDE. The project will result in a proxy-based palaeoenvironmental reconstruction and identification of periods of connection and isolation of main Pontocaspian lake basins. This project will include a secondment at Bristol University (UK) for integration with geochemical proxies and potentially a secondment at Bucharest University for joint work on Anatolian lake material or at Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt, Germany to work on a Georgian section.
The PRIDE program will offer you a very unique opportunity to deeply engage into a multidisciplinary network where climate, geo- and biosciences will come together and that involves excellent institutes in the EU as well as in the Pontocaspian Region (Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey). The terms of employment are generous but will vary slightly per country and institute and your family situation. Rough indications of maximum payments are given below and are based on MSCA-ITN rules; it consists of Salary + Mobility + Family Allowance (if applicable).
Excellent candidates are encouraged to apply for this highly attractive position in the internationally high-ranked network. Anyone is invited to apply under two conditions. (1) You should not have resided in The Netherlands for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the recruitment date (and not have carried out your main activity (work, studies, etc.) in The Netherlands) and (2) you should have an MSc and be - at the date of recruitment - an ‘early stage researcher’ (i.e. in the first four years of your research career and not have a doctoral degree).
We are seeking candidates with a background in marine palynology. Experience with terrestrial palynology is desirable.
Excellent level of written and spoken English is required.
We are looking for candidates that are available on a short notice.
€ 2.552,- gross /month + max. € 600 /month (gross) Mobility + (if applicable) € 500 /month (gross) Family Allowance.
Fixed term contract. First for 12 months, and this will be extended for the next 13 months (maximum) upon positive evaluation. The contract is for 38 hrs/week.
Deadline for your application is December 5, 2016. Your application letter (max 2 pages), CV and mail addresses of two referents should be submitted to sollicitaties@naturalis.nl. Please indicate Application PRIDE and your name in the subject line. For your motivation please think about the projects you have been working in, relevant expertise in the general subject, your ability to work in teams and in different countries/settings, lab, modelling, fieldwork experience if applicable and your social skills. For further information see the project description below.
We intent to interview the selected candidates on 19 December in Utrecht.
You may wish to contact us for further information. For further information regarding the position, please send an email to Caroline van Impelen (programme manager) at pride.naturalis.nl.
We are happy to announce that on 14 October 2016 Lea Rausch started as new early stage researcher in PRIDE in the field of micropalaeontology.
Best poster award for PRIDE researcher Sifan Koriche at the INQUA ECR 2016 conference in Reading. Climate Change Impact on Hydrological Processes of the Ponto-Caspian Basin, by S. Koriche, J. Singarayer, D. Lunt, S. Nandini, M. Prange.
Second best poster award for PRIDE researcher Diksha Bista at the INQUA ECR 2016 conference in Reading: Reconstructing the hydrological evolution of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea during the last 2 Ma using strontium isotopes, by D. Bista, R. Flecker, D.A. Richards.
Frank explains the PRIDE project in the Dutch radio programme 'Vroege Vogels'. Find the interview here http://www.nporadio1.nl/vroege-vogels/onderwerpen/316524-grote-merencrisis (in Dutch).
For PRIDE we are seeking an Early Stage Researcher (ESR) in the field of micropalaeontology. The PRIDE program combines climate-, geo- and bio-sciences and is conducted by 15 ESRs. From 2015 to 2019 we investigate the evolution and demise of lake systems and biota in the Black Sea, Caspian Sea and surroundings. Due to the leave of one of the ESRs we are seeking a new ESR for the period of 29 months.
You will be working on the project B2: palaeoenvironmental drivers of ostracod biodiversity change. You will be hosted at the University of Bucharest in Bucharest, Romania, for a period of 29 months. Your job will be to perform the research project and to participate in an extensive training programme that includes six network training events (NTE’s), paid for by the program. During your project you will also be performing one or two secondment(s), a period where you will work in one of the cooperating institutes. You will enrol in the post-graduate programs of the respective or associated universities.
You will be employed as a Geologist and will be enrolled as PhD student and will have a contract period of 29 months. You will assess palaeoenvironmental drivers of ostracod biodiversity change in Pontocaspian Basins (Black Sea, Caspian Sea) in the past 3 Ma. Ostracods are very sensitive to environmental (e.g. salinity) change. Major salinity changes occurred in successive lake phases during the Quaternary and faunal exchange occurred in episodic connections between basins. This project will focus on environmental drivers of ostracod turnover at the onset of the modern Pontocaspian system, the last glacial cycle and the Holocene of the Caspian‐Black Sea basins. For each period the composition and diversity of faunas will be assessed from a number of sections and boreholes and compared to the sedimentary record and to mollusk fauna changes in the same sections in order to identify drivers of turnover, including anthropogenic drivers. Also, ostracod successions in satellite basins in Anatolia and the Balkans will be studied to elucidate the role of these regions as source/sinks of Pontocaspian biota. Obtained time series will be used to explore the environmental context and drivers of faunal change. This project will include a secondment at Utrecht University (NL) for biostratigraphic application of the ostracod data.
The PRIDE program will offer you a very unique opportunity to deeply engage into a multidisciplinary network where climate, geo- and biosciences will come together and that involves excellent institutes in the EU as well as in the Pontocaspian Region (Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey).
Anyone is invited to apply under two conditions. (1) You should not have resided in the Romania for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the recruitment date (and not have carried out your main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Romania) and (2) you should have an MSc diploma and be - at the date of recruitment - an ‘early stage researcher’ (i.e. in the first four years of your research career and not have a doctoral degree).
Excellent written and spoken English (English language assessment certificate, e.g. TOEFL, Cambridge).
Fixed term contract. First for 12 months, and this will be extended for the next 17 months upon positive evaluation.
The contract is for 40 hrs/week.
Deadline for your application is August 12, 2016. Your application letter (max 2 pages), CV and mail addresses of two referents should be submitted to sollicitaties@naturalis.nl. Please indicate Application PRIDE B2 and your name in the subject line. For your motivation please think about the projects you have been working in, relevant expertise in the general subject, your ability to work in teams and in different countries/settings, lab, modelling, fieldwork experience if applicable and your social skills.
We intent to interview the selected candidates on 22 August in Bucharest.
You may wish to contact us for further information. As we are now in the summer period response times may be a bit slow. For further information regarding the position, please send an email to Prof. Marius Stoica marius.stoica@g.unibuc.ro and the PRIDE team: pride@naturalis.nl.
Network Training Event 4, Azerbaijan, Baku. April 25 - May 1, 2016.
Beginning on April 25 and lasting until May 1, 2016 the PRIDE follow-up meeting took place in Baku for the Network Training Event (NTE) 4. During NTE 4, Early Stage Researchers (ESRs), together with local students from Azerbaijan State University of Oil and Industry learned about Advanced Geological Field techniques in the Caspian Region. The theme of the week was “Pontocaspian Rise in the Caspian Sea”. With the guidance provided by the PRIDE supervisors and the assistance of partners from Azerbaijan National Academy of Science, ESRs gained understanding on how, when and why the Pontocaspian speceis entered the Caspian Sea and how the fauna evolved through time. ESRs and students from the local institutions did the hands-on geological exercises by which they created their own geological maps and defined the geological boundaries. Later, the geological observations were converted to paleoenvironmental models. Particular attention was also paid to setting up a successful field sampling campaign practices, and doing the field observations relevant to the collaborative research questions, and taking and recording measurements in the field.
One of the days of the training event was devoted to a conference at the Geological Institute of Azerbaijan. During the conference several ESRs, PRIDE supervisors and partners from the Geological Institute presented about their research in the region. Besides the geological program, the NTE 4 involved several cultural stops for introducing ESRs to the ancient history of Azerbaijan.
How high can you get? Mountain uplift driving diversification in Pontocaspian lakes before humans bring down the unique aquatic biota?