A two-year postdoctoral fellowship on marine nitrogen fixation and its regulation is available from 1 December 2018 in the Marine Biological Section within the Department of Biology at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.
Nitrogen (N) is the second most abundant element in living organisms, but although its most common form, N2 gas, is found at high concentrations in seawater it can only be used by specialized microorganisms capable of converting dissolved N2 into “fixed” N available for growth. N limits biological production in vast areas of the global ocean and is therefore tightly linked to the fixation of atmospheric CO2 and export of carbon (C) from the ocean’s surface. In some regions N2 fixation is fueling up to 50% of the local photosynthesis. Hence, understanding of N2 fixation and the ecology of the organisms carrying out this process is needed to quantify and predict N and C cycling in marine waters. The current paradigm is that cyanobacteria are the only important N2 fixers in marine waters. However, recent studies indicate that non-cyanobacteria may also be important, but their ecology remains largely elusive. The work will involve modelling of N2 fixation by non-cyanobacteria and cyanobacteria, its regulation and impact using a trait-based modelling approach. It may be carried out at the organism level and/or at the system level. A detailed plan of action will be developed collaboratively by the supervisors and the fellow.
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