PostDoc in Biodiversity of Native and Non-Native Urban Trees Using eDNA

About the role

The Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), part of the ETH Domain, is recruiting a postdoctoral researcher within its Forest Health and Biotic Interactions unit. The project, funded by the WSL programme NOVA-city for two years starting in January 2027, investigates whether non-native trees support less biodiversity than native trees in urban environments, where the trend is less clear than in rural ecosystems. It focuses on bacterial, fungal and insect communities associated with urban native and non-native congeneric trees.

Key responsibilities

• Plan, organise and carry out throughfall sampling in several Swiss cities and arboreta; throughfall is rainwater passing through tree canopies that carries DNA of resident organisms.
• Process throughfall samples for metabarcoding (filtering, eDNA extraction, PCR) in a modern, fully equipped molecular laboratory.
• Analyse the data and publish the results in international scientific journals.

Required profile

• PhD in natural sciences with a strong interest in urban ecology.
• Proven experience in metabarcoding and ideally eDNA, including practical wet-lab work.
• Proficiency in biodiversity and community analyses.
• Category B driving licence, very good English, and ideally German and/or French.
• Well organised, able to work independently, with good communication skills.

Applications are submitted online through the WSL website; applications by email are not accepted. The position is based in Birmensdorf, Switzerland.