We are looking
for one or two PhD students to join the Department of Behavioural Ecology,
Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland.
Students will be
supervised by Prof. Tomasz Osiejuk and will closely collaborate with a postdoc
Dr. Pavel Linhart on his project „Evolution of identity signalling in
vocalizations“.
Background: Recognition
of individuals and association of individuals with particular experiences is a
key aspect of different social behaviours. Vocalizations of many animal species
are individually distinct and allow for individual recognition. However, in
most of the cases, it is not well known whether this individual variation is
consequence of individual variation or evolved to signal identity. The project
will investigate different aspects of how individual identity is signalled
through vocalizations ranging from theoretical investigations of how identity
information can be measured to important basic questions like what life-history
factors lead to evolution of true identity signals and to potential application
of this knowledge on identity signalling for acoustic monitoring of
individuals.
The application
deadline is October 31, 2016. The position will be available from the January
2017. See below for the detail information about the project and how
to apply.
Please share
this information with anyone who may be interested. Any questions regarding the
positions should be directed to Pavel Linhart (pavel.linhart83@gmail.com) and Tomasz Osiejuk (osiejuk@amu.edu.pl).
---------------------------
Department of Behavioural Ecology
Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
Position: 2x PhD student
Description: Recognition of individuals and association of individuals with particular experiences is a key aspect of different social behaviours. Vocalizations of many animal species are individually distinct and allow for individual recognition. However, it is not well known whether this individual variation is consequence of individual variation or evolved to signal identity – i.e. whether it is true identity signals. The project will investigate different aspects of how individual identity is signalled through vocalizations ranging from theoretical investigations of how identity information can be measured to important basic questions like what life-history factors lead to evolution of true identity signals and to potential application of knowledge on identity signalling for acoustic monitoring of individuals.
The topic of the thesis is partly flexible and final questions for PhD thesis will be developed with the chosen candidates to suit hers / his qualifications and interests as long as it is within the scope of the project. It can be adapted to suit candidates preferring field work as well as those preferring office / lab work. There is a broad scope of possible approaches that can be used to address project questions: recording and analysis of vocalizations, playback experiments, modelling, programming, comparative analyses, review, etc... Candidate will most likely work with one or more species used in the past studies by Prof. Osiejuk or Dr. Linhart: ortolan buntings, corncrakes, pigs, little owls, chiffchaffs, willow warblers, duetting bird species... But it is possible to use other model species including humans. Work may include field work in Europe (Poland, Czech Republic) and / or Africa (Cameroon). Communication of the results to public audiences is important part of the project.
Financial support comes from NCN grant POLONEZ 1 funded under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 665778. The monthly salary for the PhD student is 3000 PLN gross which allows for modest living in Poland. The funding is available for 2 years (2017-18). Funding for the rest of the PhD is expected to be gained from other sources (university studentships).
The candidates will be evaluated on the basis of scientific excellence criteria, their publication record, and previous experience in research and how she / he could contribute to the project.
Requirements:
• MSc in biology, zoology, ecology or similar
• good verbal and written communication in English
Advantages:
• experience with acoustic analyses and / or playback experiments
• experience with behavioural analyses
• experience in field work on birds (recognition, catching, finding nests, measurement, sampling tissues etc.)
• experience with ecological modelling, programming
• experience with communicating science to public audiences: social media, audio / video editing,
photography
How to apply:
The applications containing motivation letter (why you are good candidate for the position, why you are interested, how you could contribute to the project, etc.), CV, publication list, and contact on 2 persons that can provide references about you, written in English should be mailed to Dr. Pavel Linhart (pavel.linhart83@gmail.com) and Prof. Tomasz Osiejuk (osiejuk@amu.edu.pl) by October 31 2016.
The best candidates will be interviewed during December.
Deadline of sending offers: 31 October 2016, 23:59
Additional information about research group: http://behaecol.amu.edu.pl
Please include in your application the following statement: “In accordance with the personal data protection act from the 29th of August 1997, I hereby agree to process and to store my personal data by the Institution for recruitment purposes”.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 665778.
Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
Position: 2x PhD student
Description: Recognition of individuals and association of individuals with particular experiences is a key aspect of different social behaviours. Vocalizations of many animal species are individually distinct and allow for individual recognition. However, it is not well known whether this individual variation is consequence of individual variation or evolved to signal identity – i.e. whether it is true identity signals. The project will investigate different aspects of how individual identity is signalled through vocalizations ranging from theoretical investigations of how identity information can be measured to important basic questions like what life-history factors lead to evolution of true identity signals and to potential application of knowledge on identity signalling for acoustic monitoring of individuals.
The topic of the thesis is partly flexible and final questions for PhD thesis will be developed with the chosen candidates to suit hers / his qualifications and interests as long as it is within the scope of the project. It can be adapted to suit candidates preferring field work as well as those preferring office / lab work. There is a broad scope of possible approaches that can be used to address project questions: recording and analysis of vocalizations, playback experiments, modelling, programming, comparative analyses, review, etc... Candidate will most likely work with one or more species used in the past studies by Prof. Osiejuk or Dr. Linhart: ortolan buntings, corncrakes, pigs, little owls, chiffchaffs, willow warblers, duetting bird species... But it is possible to use other model species including humans. Work may include field work in Europe (Poland, Czech Republic) and / or Africa (Cameroon). Communication of the results to public audiences is important part of the project.
Financial support comes from NCN grant POLONEZ 1 funded under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 665778. The monthly salary for the PhD student is 3000 PLN gross which allows for modest living in Poland. The funding is available for 2 years (2017-18). Funding for the rest of the PhD is expected to be gained from other sources (university studentships).
The candidates will be evaluated on the basis of scientific excellence criteria, their publication record, and previous experience in research and how she / he could contribute to the project.
Requirements:
• MSc in biology, zoology, ecology or similar
• good verbal and written communication in English
Advantages:
• experience with acoustic analyses and / or playback experiments
• experience with behavioural analyses
• experience in field work on birds (recognition, catching, finding nests, measurement, sampling tissues etc.)
• experience with ecological modelling, programming
• experience with communicating science to public audiences: social media, audio / video editing,
photography
How to apply:
The applications containing motivation letter (why you are good candidate for the position, why you are interested, how you could contribute to the project, etc.), CV, publication list, and contact on 2 persons that can provide references about you, written in English should be mailed to Dr. Pavel Linhart (pavel.linhart83@gmail.com) and Prof. Tomasz Osiejuk (osiejuk@amu.edu.pl) by October 31 2016.
The best candidates will be interviewed during December.
Deadline of sending offers: 31 October 2016, 23:59
Additional information about research group: http://behaecol.amu.edu.pl
Please include in your application the following statement: “In accordance with the personal data protection act from the 29th of August 1997, I hereby agree to process and to store my personal data by the Institution for recruitment purposes”.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 665778.