[lista_ecologia] PhD and postdocs on social insects in UK, Denmark, Germany

From: "Andre Frainer" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> (Redacted sender "andrefrainer" for DMARC)
To: Lista Ecologia <lista_ecologia@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 6 Jan 2018 03:47:38 +0000 (UTC)

PhD: DISPERSAL STRATEGIES & SPACE USE IN BEES, BANGOR/ROTHAMSTED

PhD scholarship: Dispersal strategies and space use in pollinating

bees, Bangor University and Rothamsted Research.

Quantifying dispersal ability and how organisms navigate through the

environment is an essential step required to predict how individual

species will cope with land use changes. There is a growing desire to

ensure that intensive land use practices are designed in a way that

maintains stable populations of pollinators.While the field of

movement ecology has been revolutionised by the advent of ever-lighter

GPS tracking devices, smaller animals such as pollinating insects have

yet to benefit from this technological revolution. Working under the

supervision of collaborators from Rothamsted Research, Bangor

University and Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) this PhD program

aims to overcome the shortfall in knowledge about pollinator dispersal.

Firstly, the student shall use the flight mill system at Rothamsted

Research to infer the flight abilities of a range of solitary bees,

bumblebees and honeybees during different phases of their lifecycle.

Then, with the advent of a novel lightweight radio transponder tracking

system developed by Dr Paul Cross' team at Bangor University, the

student shall use a UAV to follow bumblebee queens over long distances

in the field during the critical dispersal phase of their life cycle.

The student will be one of the first researchers to use this innovative

new tracking system. The PhD candidate will be expected to present

their research at conferences and workshops, as well as publish at

least one journal article per year. They shall be provided expert

training in experimental design, analysis and publishing from their

main supervisors at Rothamsted Research and Bangor University, as well

as their collaborators at QMUL. The student will undertake a Civil

Aviation Authority (CAA) certified UAV pilot licensing course, allowing

them to pilot UAVs commercially in the UK. The skillsets obtained

during this ground-breaking PhD position will prepare the candidate for a
career in movement ecology.

Applicants should hold a minimum of a UK Honours Degree at 2:1 level or

equivalent in subjects such as Ecology, Biology, Environmental Science,

and Agriculture

A full studentship is available to UK and EU candidates who have been

ordinarily resident in the UK throughout the 3-year period immediately

preceding the date of an award. EU candidates who have not been

resident in the UK for the last 3 years are eligible for "tuition fees-only"

awards (no maintenance grant).

For more information and to apply, see:

www.findaphd.com/search/ProjectDetails.aspx?PJID=89686

Closing date for applications: January 14, 2018

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POSTDOC: ECO-PHYSIOLOGY OF FUNGUS-FARMING ANTS, COPENHAGEN

Postdoctoral Fellowship in Eco-Physiology and Molecular Ecology,

Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen

A two-year postdoctoral fellowship on the eco-physiology of

fungus-farming ants is available from June 1, 2018 in the Section for

Ecology and Evolution within the Department of Biology at the

University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

The fellowship will be part of a 5-year research project financed by an

ERC Starting Grant. Led by Assistant Professor Jonathan Shik

(www.jonathanshik.com), the project will be based in the thriving

research environment of the Centre for Social Evolution

(http://socialevolution.ku.dk/home/), and will involve fieldwork in the

Panamanian tropical rainforests at the Smithsonian Tropical Research

Institute (http://www.stri.si.edu/). The successful applicant will have

experience and interest in ecology, evolution, physiology, microbial

ecology, and molecular techniques.

Project Overview

The project will focus on the remarkable lineage of leafcutter ants

(genus Atta) that harvest fresh vegetation and use it as compost to

produce domesticated fungal crops in huge underground nests that feed

massive super organismal colonies with millions of workers. We will

explore how leafcutter ants have managed to grow a single cultivar

lineage from Texas to Argentina, thriving across extreme contemporary

rainfall and temperature gradients and across diverse climates over

millions of years. Projects will combine field experiments in

Panamanian rainforests and integrative laboratory studies of cultivar

gene expression to resolve the mechanisms governing the resilience of

industrial-scale fungus farming in ants within diverse tropical insect

communities.

The deadline for applications is February 15, 2018 at 11:59 PM CET.

For more details and information about how to apply, see:

http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/?show=146492

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POSTDOC: VIRAL EVOLUTION IN BEES, HALLE, GERMANY

1 year 5 month postdoc on viral evolution in bees

A postdoctoral researcher is sought for a project on the evolutionary

ecology of viruses in bees within Robert Paxton's lab at the University

of Halle, Germany. The overarching goal of the research is to

understand the role of viral epidemiology and evolutionary change for

pathogen emergence and host switching; the project is embedded within

the DFG's priority program: Ecology and Species Barriers in Emerging

Viral Diseases (SPP 1596). Requirements sought: a highly motivated

individual; experience in, or knowledge of, evolutionary modelling and

bioinformatics; an interest in host-parasite interactions.

Opportunities exist to develop the research through lab and field-based

experiments as well as molecular genetic analysis of bees and their viruses in
the lab.

The working language of the lab is English. The neighbouring group of

Robin Mortiz makes for a strong profile in bee biology and genetics at

the University of Halle. The position is available for 1 year and 5

months and, though the start date is flexible, we seek a person to

commence research during spring 2018. Halle is a delightful, historical

city approximately 1.5 hours SW of Berlin. The salary is on the

standard German postdoc scale E13, which translates to approximately

Euro 51-57 K per annum (dependent on experience).

Further details of the position can be obtained from Robert Paxton

(robert.paxton@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx), to whom applications should be

sent by 15 February 2018 as a single pdf file to include: cover letter

referring to "position 5-12596/17-D", cv, list of publications, a

statement of research interests and goals (maximum 1 page), and contact

details of two referees. Interviews are planned for March 2018, with a

start date in April or as soon as possible thereafter.

--

Dr. Jessica K. Abbott

Senior University Lecturer

Department of Biology

Section for Evolutionary Ecology

Lund University

Sölvegatan 37

223 62 Lund, Sweden

Phone: 046 222 9304

Website: http://jessicakabbott.com



"It is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively
assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science."

- Charles Darwin, Descent of Man

[lista_ecologia] PhD and postdocs on social insects in UK, Denmark, Germany

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