jeudi 30 juin 2016

PhD position

There is PhD position opening up on the topic of nesting behaviour in broiler breeders.
This is a collaborative project between Vencomatic (a manufacturer of poultry housing systems) and Wageningen University (Adaptation Physiology and Behavioural Ecology).

Feel free to forward this e-mail to anyone who may be interested.


Deadline for applications is 10 July 2016. Interviews will be in the week of 18 July 2016.

PhD project

the deadline is quite soon (14th July) - it is a 3 year Dogs Trust funded studentship based at the RVC on the development of separation related behaviour.

Predicting and preventing separation behaviours: using a UK puppy cohort to investigate risk factors for separation anxiety and trial a programme of prevention advice

The link for further information is: http://www.rvc.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/phd#tab-available-studentships


mardi 28 juin 2016

PhD Candidate in Animal Behaviour

The group of Prof. Leonida Fusani at the Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Austria (cogbio.univie.ac.at) has funding available for a 3-year PhD position in Animal Behaviour. Gross salary starts at ca. 28.000 € / year.
The PhD candidate should develop a project aimed to understand how different components of avian courtship displays (vocalizations, movements and posture, morphological traits, etc.) contribute to signal male quality and shape female response. We are developing innovative methodologies using motion capture and electroencephalography to study courtship displays, and the candidate is expected to contribute to the development of these methods.
The working language of the Department of Cognitive Biology is English and we welcome scientists and students from any part of the planet. The PhD candidate will be embedded in the newly founded Vienna Doctoral School for Cognition, Behaviour and Neuroscience (COBENE).
The candidate will be supervised by Fusani but will collaborate with other scientists in Vienna and abroad with specific expertise in the methodologies listed above. Fusani holds a double appointment and is also head of the Research Unit of Ornithology of the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna (www.klivv.at). The PhD student will be able to interact with scientists and students and use facilities of both institutions.
Requested qualifications:
• Masters degree in zoology, psychology, neuroscience, or computer science
• Proficient knowledge of English
• Excellent academic standing
• Strong computational and programming skills
• Research experience in analysis of behaviour (or similar complex systems)
• Genuine interest in studying behaviour from an interdisciplinary perspective
Further desirable qualifications:
• Publications in international, peer-reviewed journals
• Previous experience in studying behaviour
• Previous experience in video analysis, image processing, computer vision
• Ability to work in a team is essential
Letters of application including academic CV, photograph, 2 letters of recommendation, and a statement of research interests should be sent to Mr. Philipp Maier by email (philipp.maier@univie.ac.at) until July 30th, 2016. For further information about the project, please contact Leonida Fusani: leonida.fusani@univie.ac.at. Planned starting date is October 1st, 2016.
The University of Vienna promotes the employment of woman in fields of work in which they are underrepresented and therefore encourages qualified women to apply to this opening. Disabled people will be preferentially treated if qualified.

lundi 27 juin 2016

Two fully-funded PhD Positions available at the Dept of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna



Two fully-funded PhD positions are now available at the Department of Cognitive Biology (cogbio.univie.ac.at), in the groups of Leonida Fusani and Tecumseh Fitch.  This is a new and thriving department studying the biology of cognition within the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Vienna in Vienna, Austria.

The working language of the Department of Cognitive Biology is English and we welcome scientists and students from anywhere in the world. The candidate will be able to collaborate with other scientists in Vienna and abroad, and would be integrated into the new Vienna Doctoral School in Cognition, Behaviour and Neuroscience (CoBeNe).

PhD Candidate in Animal Behaviour (Fusani)

The group of Prof. Leonida Fusani at the Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Austria  has funding available for a 3-year PhD position to study how different components of avian courtship displays contribute to signal male quality and shape female response.

We are looking for candidates with a MSc in zoology, psychology, neuroscience, or computer science. Musts: Proficient knowledge of English; Excellent academic standing; Strong computational and programming skills; Research experience in analysis of behaviour.

Letters of application including academic CV, photograph, 2 letters of recommendation, and a statement of research interests should be sent to Philipp Maier by email (philipp.maier@univie.ac.at) by July 30th, 2016. For further information about the project, please contact Leonida Fusani: leonida.fusani@univie.ac.at. Planned starting date is October 1st, 2016.


PhD Candidate in Bioacoustics and/or Cognitive Biology (Fitch)

The group of Prof. Tecumseh Fitch at the Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Austria has funding available for a 3-year PhD position (potentially +1 year). The PhD topic is flexible and open to discussion,  but would preferably build upon existing research in the Fitch lab in bioacoustics and animal communication, and/or cognitive biology (including biolinguistics, biomusicology or neuroaesthetics).

Candidates with an MSc or equivalent and a strong background in zoology, psychology, physics, neuroscience, or computer science are sought. Proficient knowledge of English, excellent academic standing, strong computational and programming skills and research experience are key. At least one first-author publication is a strong plus.

Letters of application including academic CV, 2 letters of recommendation,  any publications, and a statement of research interests should be sent to Philipp Maier by email (philipp.maier@univie.ac.at) by July 30th, 2016. For further information about the project, please contact Tecumseh Fitch (tecumseh.fitch@univie.ac.at) . Planned starting date is October 1st, 2016.

jeudi 23 juin 2016

1 position as research manager at the striped mouse project in South Africa,

starting between August and October 2016 for 1-3 years

We are looking for an extremely motivated and independent biology student with a master’s degree to join the striped mouse project for a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 3 years as research manager. Somebody who would like to gain experience in field work and scientific management. Managers get free accommodation at the station and R4500/month to cover their daily costs. Travel costs can be refunded by up to an additional R 12 000 / year. As such, the position compensates for all arising costs but does not represent a real employment.
The research manager will work closely together with the station manager and both managers will share responsibilities. However, each will have specific main duties, but should also be able to deal with all other duties (for example when the other manager is on leave, or when a new manager has to be trained).
We already have an acting station manager while our present research manager will leave the project end of the year to search for a PhD position. The new research manager will be instructed by the present research manager and both will overlap for 1-3 months.
Great opportunity: This is a great opportunity to spend 1-3 years in Africa, acquiring important skills in field biology and project management, while improving your CV. These skills will become valuable whether you later continue with a PhD or other jobs. It will be very hard and demanding, but also a once in a life time experience!
You must be hard-working, highly motivated, able to work independently, good in communicating with people, able to supervise others, and not afraid of snakes. You should love to live at a remote place in nature, without regular internet and cell-phone reception. Most importantly, you are fascinated by nature and science!

Job description: Five working days a week (Mo, Tue, Thu, Fr, Sat), with Wednesday being used for a shopping trip to town (not counted as working day) and Sundays being free. Included are four weeks of holiday for 12 months, which has to be taken outside the main breeding season (August to November) during periods when other students are present at the research station.
Shared duties
Striped mice:
·         Trapping
·         Observing
·         Radio-tracking, putting radio-collars on
·         Blood sampling
·         Collect data for specific research projects (to be determined. Examples would be collecting urine samples, data on basking, cognitive testing …)

Primary duties research manager / secondary duties station manager
·         Data:
o    Weekly data entry
o    Weekly data check
o    Monthly data backup
o    Monthly data report
o    Training and supervision of field assistants
o    Training of students and postdocs
o    Support for students and postdocs
o    Management of transmitters
o    Management of field and laboratory supplies

Primary duties station manager / secondary duties research manager
·         Technical support research station:
o    Water system incl. sewage system
o    Solar system
o    Gas bottles replacement
o    House and furniture
o    Running of the respirometry laboratory
o    Management of the captive colony
o    Management of the research station car
o    Management of bank account and cash box
o    Management of research station supplies

Compensation:
·         Free accommodation.
  • A monthly compensation of R 4 500, which is sufficient to pay all costs of living (approx. 3500/month).
  • For travel costs, R12 000 per year can be refunded, but proof (receipts) must be presented for this. This refund is only payable after 12 months.
  • You will become a honorary researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand in the group of Prof. N. Pillay.
  • Scientific co-authorship or even becoming a first author will be possible if the manager contributes to the success of projects by not only collecting the majority of data, but also by data analysis and writing of the manuscript.
Responsibilities:
·         The manager has to cover the costs to get to the station, including travel costs and visa fees. For this, a refund can be paid (see above).
  • The manager needs to arrange for a health insurance covering him / her during the stay. A copy must be sent to C. Schradin before travelling to the stations.
Place and project: Succulent Karoo Research Station in the Goegap Nature Reserve near Springbok in the Northern Cape of South Africa. The research projects are on the socio-ecology of small mammals, studying ecological and physiological reasons of social behaviour, behavioural flexibility, and physiological adaptation.
How to apply? Please send a CV, a letter of motivation and the names and contact information of at least two scientists available for reference. The letter of motivation should state why you think you are the perfect candidate for this, and when you could start.
Application deadline: There is no deadline, but applications will be reviewed until a suitable candidate is found. For full consideration, send your application before the 10th of July. After the 10th of July you might first enquire via email whether the position is still open or not.

Further information under www.stripedmouse.com
Dr. Carsten Schradin, Director of the Succulent Karoo Research Station, a registered South African non-profit organization supporting research in organismic biology.

___________

mardi 21 juin 2016

ECAWBM: Post Doc Position in Horse Behaviour and Welfare

Post Doctoral position, 18 months
September 2016 - February 2018
Deadline : July 15th, 2016

The Institute:
The French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) is Europe’s top research institute and the world’s number two centre in the field of agricultural sciences. Its mission is to discover and advance knowledge for the benefit of society, public health and economic prosperity.The range of topics, approaches and technologies available at INRA makes it possible to address a broad range of fundamental issues in life sciences and agriculture. For further information:
http://institut.inra.fr/en

Mission of the researcher:
A post-doctoral researcher position is available in the Behavior, Adaptation and Neurobiology team, which is located onto the INRA center of Tours, although the research project will be based at he French National Riding School and the Cadre noir of Saumur (Saumur, France; http://www.ifce.fr/en/cadrenoir/).
The post-doctoral position will focus on the assessment of sport horse welfare through an integrated analysis of behavioral parameters, intestinal microbiota, blood transcriptome, and health parameters. Fatigue, under performance and gastrointestinal distress are common among horses during training and competition. We therefore propose a system biology perspective to understand the complex hostmicrobioma interactions and their association with stress and pathophysiological phenotypes so that alterations in the composition of the gut microbiota in disease states can be reversed.
The post-doctoral position involves planning, coordinating and leading the research project on a semi-independent basis, and providing statistical analysis for behavior, metagenomics and transcriptomics data. The researcher will support the veterinarian members of the Cadre noir for data collection, and will work towards contributing new ideas and providing a fresh perspective to expand our current research.
We seek candidates with a strong background in the domain of behavior sciences, including experience in the analysis of large data sets and video registration and with an interest in metagenomics. Strong organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills is required. Proven experience of working in group and in close contact with veterinarians, and farmers is compulsory.
Experience in handling, analysis and meta-analysis of next generation sequencing data and an overview of technologies for high-throughput DNA, RNA analyses is a plus. Lastly, experience and training in the care and handling of horses would be an advantage.

Applicants must hold a PhD degree in Biology, Veterinary Medicine or related fields.
 
Technical skills required:
Implementing behavior tests
Good statistical programming and script programming skills in R and shell scripting. Skills in perl/python would be welcome but are not compulsory.
Publishing the results in international scientific journals
Preparing scientific reports and statements for horse associations

Languages:
Fluent level of French and strong knowledge in English (both writing and speaking)

The offer:
The position is intended as full-time for18 months.
Estimated gross monthly salary: 2,658 €
Starting date: September 2016.
The successful candidate will be directly mentored by both Léa Lansade and Núria Mach.

Application procedure:
All applications must include: a motivation letter addressed to Dr. Léa Lansade and Dr. Núria Mach; a full CV including contact details and two contacts for further references.
 
Contacts:
Dr. Léa Lansade
Équipe Comportement, Neurobiologie et Adaptation
INRA Tours
Mail : lea.lansade@tours.inra.fr

Dr. Núria Mach
Équipe Biologie Intégrative et Génétique Equine
INRA Jouy en Josas
Mail : nuria.mach@jouy.inra.fr
 
Deadline: Please submit your application by July 15th, 2016

lundi 20 juin 2016

HORSE BEHAVIOR AND WELFARE



Post Doctoral position, 18 months
September 2016 -February 2018

Deadline : July 15th, 2016
The Institute:
The French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) is Europe’s top research institute and the world’s number two centre in the field of agricultural sciences. Its mission is to discover and advance knowledge for the benefit of society, public health and economic prosperity.The range of topics, approaches and technologies available at INRA makes it possible to address a broad range of fundamental issues in life sciences and agriculture. 
For further information: http://institut.inra.fr/en

Mission of the researcher:
A post-doctoral researcher position is available in the Behavior, Adaptation and Neurobiology team, which is located onto the INRA center of Tours, although the research project will be based at he French National Riding School and the Cadre noir of Saumur (Saumur, France; http://www.ifce.fr/en/cadrenoir/).
The post-doctoral position will focus on the assessment of sport horse welfare through an integrated analysis of behavioral parameters, intestinal microbiota, blood transcriptome, and health parameters. Fatigue, underperformance and gastrointestinal distress are common among horses during training and competition. We therefore propose a system biology perspective to understand the complex hostmicrobioma interactions and their association with stress and pathophysiological phenotypes so that alterations in the composition of the gut microbiota in disease states can be reversed.
The post-doctoral position involves planning, coordinating and leading the research project on a semi-independent basis, and providing statistical analysis for behavior, metagenomics and transcriptomics data. The researcher will support the veterinarian members of the Cadre noir for data collection, and will work towards contributing new ideas and providing a fresh perspective to expand our current research

Technical skills required:
We seek candidates with a strong background in the domain of behavior sciences, including experience in the analysis of large data sets and video registration and with an interest in metagenomics. Strong organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills is required. Proven experience of working in group and in close contact with veterinarians, and farmers is compulsory.
Experience in handling, analysis and meta-analysis of next generation sequencing data and an overview of technologies for high-throughput DNA, RNA analyses is a plus. Lastly, experience and training in the care and handling of horses would be an advantage.

Applicants must hold a PhD degree in Biology, Veterinary Medicine or related fields.
Technical skills required:
Implementing behavior tests
Good statistical programming and script programming skills in R and shell scripting. Skills in perl/python would be welcome but are not compulsory.
Publishing the results in international scientific journals
Preparing scientific reports and statements for horse
Associations

Languages:
Fluent level of French and strong knowledge in English (both writing and speaking)

The offer:
The position is intended as full-time for18 months.
Estimated gross monthly salary: 2,658 €
Starting date: September 2016.
The successful candidate will be directly mentored by both Léa Lansade and Núria Mach.

Application procedure:
All applications must include: a motivation letter addressed to Dr. Léa Lansade and Dr. Núria Mach; a full CV including contact details and two contacts for further references.

Contacts:
Dr. Léa Lansade
Équipe Comportement, Neurobiologie et Adaptation
INRA Tours
Mail : lea.lansade@tours.inra.fr
Dr. Núria Mach
Équipe Biologie Intégrative et Génétique Equine
INRA Jouy en Josas

Deadline: Please submit your application by July 15th, 2016