One of the primary drivers of fluctuations in stock size for many marine fish populations is year-class strength or recruitment. However, the ecosystem processes that regulate survival through recruitment are poorly understood and there is limited survey or fisheries information on the early life history stages of the fish. A major integrated ecosystem research effort was recently initiated in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) to investigate the ecological regulators influencing recruitment strength for five focal groundfish species: arrowtooth flounder, Pacific cod, Pacific Ocean perch, sablefish, and walleye pollock. For more information on the GOA_IERP, see http://s3.alaskagulf.nprb.org/statements_of_work/G81.pdf/. In general, the early life history of these species consists of three main stages defined as the pelagic offshore to nearshore stage, the nearshore settlement stage, and the pre-recruit migration to adult habitat stage. An understanding of the species specific habitat suitability for all three stages would allow concurrent modeling efforts of species distribution to more accurately predict survival to recruitment. Developing the habitat suitability models will involve processing benthic habitat data, spatial statistical analysis, and high-dimensional modeling. Additional requirements will include coordinating with scientists involved with the GOA integrated research effort and extensive literature synthesis on habitat preferences for the five focal species.

Candidates should have attained a Ph.D. in fisheries, statistics, oceanography, or related field within the last five years. Good quantitative abilities, written and oral communication skills, and species distribution modeling experience are required. Candidates should have experience with geographic information systems (GIS) and processing spatial data. There may also be opportunities to participate in at-sea research.