Vacancy
PhD student position: Small pelagic fish in offshore windfarms - NO-REGRETS project
Your job
Curious about how offshore windfarms affect fish like herring? Join our research team!
The Aquaculture and Fisheries group (AFI) and Wageningen Marine Research (WMR) at Wageningen University and Research are looking for a PhD student to join them in the NO-REGRETS project that aims to study the ecological effects of offshore windfarms (OWFs) in the North Sea. The project is a collaboration among several research institutes and universities, including the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Naturalis, the University of Amsterdam, and Wageningen University and Research. Other collaborations will involve a broad range of stakeholders in the North Sea area, including NGO’s and fisheries organisations.
You will focus on small pelagic fish (SPF) such as herring, sprat and anchovy in and around offshore windfarms in the North Sea. These offshore wind farms introduce artificial hard substrates to a mainly soft-sediment environment, leading to hard substrate benthic communities growing on the monopiles and scour protection. These communities consume organic and inorganic matter from the water, including the eggs and juvenile stages of small pelagic fish, potentially reducing their productivity. Moreover, competition for food caused by overlaps in diets between the grazing benthic community and the juveniles and adults of SPF may further affect productivity.
Vice versa, the pelagic eggs and larvae of benthic communities on hard substrates may serve as food for the small pelagic fish community for juvenile and adult life stages, resulting in increased growth of small pelagic fish and thus increased production. These opposing forces in the changes of food availability, competition though food overlap and predation for SPF around OWFs lead to potential changes in habitat use of small pelagic fish. Meanwhile, there is no knowledge on small pelagic fish diet around OWFs, food overlap, and potential competition. In addition, the monopiles and scour protection on the seafloor also attract larger pelagic predatory fish such as mackerel and cod.
Looking into the role of small pelagic fish in this complex foodweb around offshore wind farms will reveal to what extend effects of windfarms on small pelagic fish populations are to be expected, especially given the large quantity of future planned OWFs. Also we would like to test the attraction versus production hypothesis: are fish simply attracted to the monopiles for shelter or do the feeding opportunities provided by the new hard substrate, potentially lead to increased ecological fish production? This is important for fisheries, but also for predators, because small pelagic fish have a central role in the foodweb, serving as food for predatory fish, seabirds and marine mammals.
You will study the spatial distribution of different life stages of small pelagic fish, and relate this to the diet, food availability, and food overlap of species around OWFs in close collaboration with other PhD students of the project. You will monitor the spatial distribution of fish inside and outside of selected OWFs in the project using ship-based echosounders and wideband autonomous transceiver (WBAT) echosounders in combination with an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP). WBAT observations offer a variety of potential analyses on fish densities, distribution over the water column and behaviour such as schooling and swimming directions. You will test the effect of OWFs on SPF by contrasting densities of fish, vertical distribution and behaviour inside and outside OWFs. Potential differences in stomach content of SPF in and outside OWFs will be estimated using macroscopic observations and DNA metabarcoding of stomach contents.
Your qualities
As the ideal candidate :
- you hold a MSc degree (or will graduate before appointment date) in Biology, Marine Biology, Ecology or Environmental Science;
- you have experience with fieldwork and are not prone to sea sickness;
- you are a real team player, willing to work with a diverse group of researchers, technicians and project stakeholders;
- you have strong quantitative skills and preferably technical skills;
- you have the ability to work independently in a challenging environment;
- you have a proactive, inquisitive, enthusiastic, creative and self-reliant mind-set;
- you are strongly motivated to obtain a PhD degree;
- have excellent English language proficiency (a minimum of CEFR C2 level). For more information about this proficiency level, please visit our special language page.
The position is available within Wageningen University & Research at the Aquaculture and Fisheries group. The organization has good and flexible employment conditions, including good education and training facilities for PhD students. Your working location will be at Wageningen Marine Research in IJmuiden, the Netherlands. You are expected to take part in the sampling campaigns at sea, several times per year.
We offer you
Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:
- Partially paid parental leave;
- working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
- there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
- a fixed year-end bonus of 8.3%;
- excellent pension scheme.
The gross salary for the first year is € 2.901,- per month rising to € 3.707,- in the fourth year in according to the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.
Wageningen University & Research offers plenty of opportunities for growth and development, with a strong internal recruitment policy and excellent training programmes.
You will work on the greenest and most innovative campus in the Netherlands, in an international and open working environment. For 20 consecutive years, we have been voted the "best university" in the Netherlands! A place to be proud of.
Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees.
Because we expect you to work and live in the Netherlands our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.
Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. We can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example helping your partner to find a job, housing, or schooling. Finally, certain categories of international staff may be eligible for a tax exemption on a part of their salary during the first five years in the Netherlands.
Do you want more information?
Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained from: Dr Jan Jaap Poos (janjaap.poos@wur.nl ) or Dr Ingrid Tulp (ingrid.tulp@wur.nl)
For more information about the procedure, please contact recruitment.asg@wur.nl
Do you want to apply?
You can apply directly using the apply button on the vacancy page on our website which will allow us to process your personal information with your approval.
This vacancy will be listed up to and including Monday 23 June 2025. We hope to schedule the first job interviews on Tuesday 8 July 2025.
Welcome, safe, and valued
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) highly values diversity and inclusion because we believe that different insights lead to innovative solutions. We create a work environment where everyone feels welcome, safe, and appreciated, regardless of background, identity, or experience. Together, we are building a culture where everyone's unique contribution adds to the success of our organization.
We are
The mission of Wageningen University & Research is ‘To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life’.
We pursue this mission through a synergistic approach between Wageningen University and Wageningen Research Foundation (applied research). Our research focuses on questions within the domains of food, living environment, and society. With approximately 30 locations, 7,700 staff members, 2,500 PhD candidates, and over 13,000 students, Wageningen University & Research is among the world’s leading knowledge institutions in its domain. The integral approach to challenges and the collaboration across various disciplines form the core of the unique Wageningen approach.
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We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.