The Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Pretoria is offering a Postdoctoral Fellowship within its project “Towards a comprehensive understanding of impacts of the invasive House Mouse on the terrestrial biodiversity of Marion Island” as part of the South African National Antarctic Programme. The SANAP project is led by Associate Professor Michelle Greve, a collaborator with the Saving Marion Island’s Seabirds: The Mouse-Free Marion (MFM) Project.
Junior’s Kop taken on the way to Katedraalkrans Hut on Marion Island. Photograph: Elsa van Ginkel
“Sub-Antarctic Marion Island is one of the most isolated landmasses globally. The House Mouse invaded the island in the early 1800s, and its impacts are manifold, and intensifying under climate change. This project aims to fill gaps in understanding mouse impacts on the island, with the purpose of informing the planned mouse eradication. This position will provide exciting opportunities to work on excellent long-term and/or spatially well-sampled datasets and inform island management.”
“Additionally, opportunities to collaborate locally and internationally exist within this project. We are looking for a candidate with expertise in one or several of the following, or related fields: community ecology, isotope ecology, entomology, botany, trait ecology; or with an ability to learn the necessary skills. Their primary responsibility will be conducting and leading research into one or several of these themes. Opportunities for student supervision and teaching also exist.”
The fellowship duration is from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027.
Read more details of the fellowship and how to apply by 29 August here.
Additionally, the closing date for two “Field Birder Assistants for Marion Island 2026/27” with the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment is 25 August. The birders will work with threatened seabirds on the island, including species of albatrosses and petrels that are being attacked by mice (click here to learn more about these two positions).
With thanks to the Antarctic Legacy of South Africa.
John Cooper, News Correspondent, Mouse-Free Marion Project, 15 August 2025
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A House Mouse on Marion Island, photograph by Ben Dilley
The Mouse-Free Marion Project is a registered non-profit company (No. 2020/922433/08) in South Africa, established to eradicate the invasive albatross-killing mice on Marion Island in the Southern Ocean. The project was initiated by BirdLife South Africa and the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. Upon successful completion, the project will restore the critical breeding habitat of over two million seabirds, many globally threatened, and improve the island’s resilience to a warming climate. For more information or to support the project please visit mousefreemarion.org
