Subject area Botany (Plant Science)Subject area description The postdoctor will work on a Swedish Science Council-funded project using a comprehensive phylogenetic tree of southern African (SA) Asteraceae to evaluate the roles of long-distance dispersal, biome shifts, and environmental change as stimuli of taxonomic and phenotypic diversification. Having undergone a major evolutionary radiation in SA to yield a regional flora comprising ca. 2500 species which has occupied all available environments, from deserts to the alpine zone, Asteraceae offers an ideal system for studying the dynamics of diversification in a continental context. In addition, the physiographic and vegetation diversity of contemporary SA, and a Miocene-Pliocene history involving tectonism and climate change, provide the opportunity to test the agency of contemporary and historical factors as drivers of evolutionary diversification.In addition to the above, the postdoctor will be required to develop an independent research project that makes use of GBG’s living collections and/or contributes to GBG’s conservation agenda. This project may be systematic, address questions relating to trait evolution and/or geographical distribution, or have an explicit conservation focus (e.g., relating to threat assessment and ex situ conservation practices).There is a possibility to participate in international plant collecting trips.The research will be supervised by Prof G Anthony Verboom (University of Gothenburg and GBG), Dr Nicola Bergh (GBG), and Dr Félix Forest (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew). The postdoctor will also work closely with a PhD student whose research examines the diversification consequences of intercontinental long-distance dispersal.Duties Conduct primary research leading to the pub…

Postdoctor in Botany