A 2 year post-doctoral position starting on September or October 2008 (1st January 2009, last delay) is open at the Department of Ecology, Physiology and Ethology, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert-Curien, CNRS, Strasbourg, France. The gross salary will be 2500 euros/month (3800 US $).
Project title: ENERGY ADAPTATIONS TO NUTRITIONNAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS IN GROWING KING PENGUIN CHICKS.
Profile: The candidate must have a solid knowledge on energetic, nutrition, thermoregulation and behaviour. Field and group experience is required, as well as experience for the use of bio-logger and/or for respirometry. The candidate should be able to work at the interface between bio-logger developers and biologist users. High capacities for the mathematical and statistical treatment of large amount of data are required. A perfect knowledge of the English language and a high efficiency for paper writing are needed. The candidate should have passed his/her PhD thesis for less than 2 years.
Further information can be asked to: Dr. René GROSCOLAS
Closing date: 30 March 2008 with a limited delay.
Summary of the project
The project aims at unravelling and at understanding how a growing animal faces nutritional deficit under unfavourable weather conditions from a physiological and behavioural point of view. Studies will be performed on the king penguin chick (Aptenodytes patagonicus), a marine bird living in the subantarctic region. Growth lasts 1 year and shows periods of intense fattening or total fasting. The following questions and hypothesis will be examined:
1) What are the adaptations used to face food shortage during growth? We hypothesize that metabolic depression (e.g. hypothermia) and/or reduction in the energy cost associated with locomotion have developed as energy saving mechanisms.
2) From 2 month of age, and notably during winter, chicks use to gather together in crèche: we hypothesize that this social behaviour has developed not only as a mean to protect against predators but also as a mechanism allowing energy saving through protection against harsh weather.
3) Is thermal insulation provided by dawn adequate to face weather constraints? We hypothesize that this insulation is efficient under dry conditions but not when rainfall are abundant (as could happen due to global warming) because the insulative capacity of wet dawn is markedly reduced.
4) Given that the shift from terrestrial to marine life represents a drastic environmental change, we hypothesize that departure to sea is associated with physiological and behavioural training, including for diving.
Field work (two 2-5 month seasons) will be performed at Crozet Island (subantarctica) with the financial support of the French Polar Institute (IPEV) and with the logistical help of Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises. The project is part of the ECONERGY project led by R. Groscolas within the IPEV frame. The methodology used will be mostly based on bio-logging. Focal sampling of behaviour associated with heart rate or accelerometry recording at fine time scale will allow the determination of the energy cost of various behaviours, according to season, developmental status and climatology. The candidate will be also involved in the study of the relationships between heart rate or 3D accelerometry and energy metabolism, as measured using respirometry.
René Groscolas
IPHC/DEPE
UMR CNRS 7178
23 rue Becquerel
67087 Strasbourg-France
e-mail : rene.groscolas@c-strasbourg.fr
Phone : +33 (0) 3 88 10 69 23
Fax : + 33 (0) 3 88 10 69 06
For application, see Web site :
localhost/DRH/postdocs08>https://www2.cnrs.fr/DRH/postdocs08
Offer: environmental science and sustainable development P.N.P.P./5 Application
Project title: ENERGY ADAPTATIONS TO NUTRITIONNAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS IN GROWING KING PENGUIN CHICKS.
Profile: The candidate must have a solid knowledge on energetic, nutrition, thermoregulation and behaviour. Field and group experience is required, as well as experience for the use of bio-logger and/or for respirometry. The candidate should be able to work at the interface between bio-logger developers and biologist users. High capacities for the mathematical and statistical treatment of large amount of data are required. A perfect knowledge of the English language and a high efficiency for paper writing are needed. The candidate should have passed his/her PhD thesis for less than 2 years.
Further information can be asked to: Dr. René GROSCOLAS
Closing date: 30 March 2008 with a limited delay.
Summary of the project
The project aims at unravelling and at understanding how a growing animal faces nutritional deficit under unfavourable weather conditions from a physiological and behavioural point of view. Studies will be performed on the king penguin chick (Aptenodytes patagonicus), a marine bird living in the subantarctic region. Growth lasts 1 year and shows periods of intense fattening or total fasting. The following questions and hypothesis will be examined:
1) What are the adaptations used to face food shortage during growth? We hypothesize that metabolic depression (e.g. hypothermia) and/or reduction in the energy cost associated with locomotion have developed as energy saving mechanisms.
2) From 2 month of age, and notably during winter, chicks use to gather together in crèche: we hypothesize that this social behaviour has developed not only as a mean to protect against predators but also as a mechanism allowing energy saving through protection against harsh weather.
3) Is thermal insulation provided by dawn adequate to face weather constraints? We hypothesize that this insulation is efficient under dry conditions but not when rainfall are abundant (as could happen due to global warming) because the insulative capacity of wet dawn is markedly reduced.
4) Given that the shift from terrestrial to marine life represents a drastic environmental change, we hypothesize that departure to sea is associated with physiological and behavioural training, including for diving.
Field work (two 2-5 month seasons) will be performed at Crozet Island (subantarctica) with the financial support of the French Polar Institute (IPEV) and with the logistical help of Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises. The project is part of the ECONERGY project led by R. Groscolas within the IPEV frame. The methodology used will be mostly based on bio-logging. Focal sampling of behaviour associated with heart rate or accelerometry recording at fine time scale will allow the determination of the energy cost of various behaviours, according to season, developmental status and climatology. The candidate will be also involved in the study of the relationships between heart rate or 3D accelerometry and energy metabolism, as measured using respirometry.
René Groscolas
IPHC/DEPE
UMR CNRS 7178
23 rue Becquerel
67087 Strasbourg-France
e-mail : rene.groscolas@c-strasbourg.fr
Phone : +33 (0) 3 88 10 69 23
Fax : + 33 (0) 3 88 10 69 06
For application, see Web site :
localhost/DRH/postdocs08>https://www2.cnrs.fr/DRH/postdocs08
Offer: environmental science and sustainable development P.N.P.P./5 Application