PhD position in Neuroscience, University of Lausanne

We have an open PhD position in our group (Prof. Mehdi Tafti), at the Department of Physiology of University of Lausanne, to work on a multidisciplinary project aiming to investigate the role of cortical and subcortical brain structures in vigilance state regulation. The successful candidate will combine state-of-the-art tools for in vivo electrophysiology (multisite LFP/unit recordings, fiber photometry), optogenetics, and neuroanatomy approaches to investigate the interplay between cortical and subcortical structures during sleep and behavioral tasks in mice.  

Job information
Expected start date in position : Start between September 2018 and November 2018 (flexible)
Contract length : 1 year, renewable 2 x 2 years, maximum 5 years
Workplace : Lausanne, quartier UNIL-Bugnon

More details and application process can be found here: goo.gl/hCBwVD 
 

Offre de stages

Comportement et bien-être des volailles
Entreprise d’accueil :
Le  Bureau  E.T.R.E,  Etudes  et  Travaux  de  Recherches  en  Ethologie  est  dirigé  par
Cécile Bourguet, chercheuse et consultante en éthologie.
Le  Bureau  E.T.R.E  effectue  des  travaux  de  recherche,  d’expertise  et  de  formation  à
destination  des  professionnels  dans  le  domaine  du  comportement  et  du  bien-être  animal,
avec une spécialisation dans les animaux d’élevage.
Le  Bureau  E.T.R.E  est  un  bureau  d’études  indépendant,  travaillant  en  partenariat  avec
l’INRA  et  plus  particulièrement  avec  l’UMRH-CARAIBE,  spécialiste  du  bien-être  des
herbivores d’élevage.
Il est situé au sein du centre INRA Clermont-Ferrand/Theix.
Contenu des stages proposés :
Les  stages  proposés  visent  à  étudier  le  comportement  des  poulets  afin  d’optimiser
leur bien-être.
Les tâches à effectuer  par les stagiaires  sont la réalisation d’une synthèse bibliographique
et/ou une  analyse comportementale sur la base de vidéos. Pour cela, les stagiaires seront
formés à l’utilisation du logiciel « Noldus The observer ».
Dates et lieu des stages :
Les  stages  ont  lieu  au  Bureau  E.T.R.E  au  sein  du  centre  INRA  de  ClermontFerrand/Theix  pour  une  durée  de  2  à  6  mois,  avec  un  démarrage  entre  les  mois  de
septembre et novembre 2018 (en fonction des disponibilités des stagiaires).
Profil des candidats recherchés :
Les  candidats  doivent  être  en  Licence  3  minimum  dans  le  domaine  de  la  biologie
animale, production animale ou équivalent.
Ils doivent faire preuve de rigueur scientifique, d’autonomie et maîtriser l’anglais.
Contact :
Vos CV, lettres de motivation et périodes de disponibilité sont à envoyer par mail à :
cbourguet@bureau-etre.fr
Les candidats retenus passeront un entretien skype ou téléphonique courant juillet.

Offre de thèse Lyon

Influence of symbionts on host niche and partner’s choices
Context and objectives
The processes underlying ecological speciation, i.e. the establishment of reproductive isolation between
divergent  populations, is a central question in Biology and has been at the origin of intense debates
among evolutionary biologists. The fundamental question is to understand how reproductive isolation
can emerge as a consequence of divergent selection despite gene flow. The idea that symbiosis could be
a driver of speciation has been defended since the beginning of the 20th century.  Symbiosis has been
associated with major transitions in evolution, notably in insects, where, for example, the acquisition of
nutritional obligate bacterial symbionts allowed phytophagous insects to feed on plant sap. In addition
to obligate symbionts, insects  are often associated with a diversity of facultative endosymbionts that can
also  play a role in the exploitation of the insect host niche and mating choice and could  thus  be associated
with rapid diversification.
The objective of this project is to investigate whether endosymbionts play a role in diversification
and  ecological  speciation  of  insect pests,  and most notably in their use of cultivated plants and
partner’s choice. This study will be done on the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), a
complex  of  morphologically  indistinguishable  species,  whose  taxonomy  has  been  the  subject  of
important  controversies.  The  most  recent  analyses,  based  on  a  threshold  of  3.5%  mitochondrial
cytochrome  oxidase  1  gene  sequence  divergence,  have  identified  28  species  in  this  complex.  This
number has however to be taken with caution, as important mitochondrial variation is encountered in
some “species”. Whiteflies harbour several bacterial symbionts: in addition to their obligate symbiont,
95% of B. tabaci individuals are infected by one or more facultative symbionts. Importantly, symbiotic
composition is specific to each biotype and it is, in some cases, associated with particular biological and
ecological features such as  host plant range, geographical localisation and insecticide resistance. This
raises the possibility that symbionts may play a role in the adaptation to environmental changes and the
diversification of the B. tabaci species complex. Interestingly, B. tabaci biotypes differ in their capacity
to  transmit  plant  viruses,  which  seems  to  be  linked  to  the  composition  of  the  bacterial  symbiotic
community they harbour, a hypothesis that needs further experimental evidence.
Methodology
Mate  choice  tests  will  be  performed  using  males  and  females  harbouring  different  associations  of
facultative symbionts. These same lines will also be used to measure insect  attraction  to different plants.
Insect performance will be measured through  the analysis of  life history traits  like  survival,  fecundity
and  metabolic capacities  (by HPLC profiling of relevant  metabolites). Molecular biology techniques
will be used to determine the symbiont composition of the different insect lines.
Skills
This project implies  manipulation  of  tiny  (1mm)  and  fast  moving  insects,  it thus  requires  a  student
having  a  strong  interest  in  insect  biology,  and  who  possibly  already  worked  on  small  insects.  The
recruited student should also show interest in behavioural ecology.
Environment
Experiments will be realised in two laboratories located at the same university site, University of Lyon
(Villeurbanne, France), the Laboratory of Biometry and Evolutionary Biology (LBBE, UMR CNRS
5558,  Université  Lyon1)  and  the  Laboratory  of  Functional  Biology,  Insects  and  Interactions  (UMR
INRA/INSA de Lyon 203 BF2I).  The supervision will be done by members of these two laboratories,
who  are collaborating since several years and  already supervised jointly students’ projects. The  team
‘Genetics and Evolution of host-parasite interactions’  of the LBBE  is recognized as a world leading
group in the field of insect symbiosis, notably on the evolution of host-symbiont and symbiont-symbiont
interactions.  Its  work  on  B.  tabaci  includes the evaluation of the diversity  and  effects of symbiotic
communities.  The  team  ‘Trophic  SYMbioses’  of  the  BF2I  lab  has  long-standing  knowledge  of
nutritionally-based symbioses in insects. The team is internationally recognized for its expertise in the
physiology and metabolism of symbiotic insects, working since several years on pea aphid / Buchnera
aphidicola  symbiotic  system.    The  two  teams  belong  to  a  multidisciplinary  institute  where
bioinformatics,  ecology,  genetics  and  medicine  are  studied,  providing  a  stimulating  and  rich
environment.
Supervision
Laurence Mouton (laurence.mouton@univ-lyon1.fr), Federica Calevro (federica.calevro@insa-lyon.fr)
References
Romba R., Gnankiné O., Drabo SF., Tiendrebeogo  F., Henri H., Mouton L. & Vavre F. Abundance of Bemisia tabaci  Gennadius
(Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) and its parasitoids on vegetables and cassava plants in Burkina Faso (West Africa).  Ecology and
Evolution. In press.
Simonet P., Gaget K., Balmand S., Ribeiro-Lopes M., Parisot N., Buhler K., Duport G., Vulsteke V., Febvay G., Heddi A.,
Charles H., Callaerts P., Calevro F.  (2018).    Bacteriocyte cell death in the pea aphid/Buchnera  symbiotic system. Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences USA 2018 Feb 5. Pii: 201720237. doi: 10:10.1073/pnas.1720237115.
Simonet  P.,  Gaget  K.,  Parisot  N.,  Duport  G.,  Rey  M.,  Febvay  G.,  Charles  H.,  Callaerts  P.,  Colella  S., Calevro  F.  (2016)
Disruption  of  phenylalanine  hydroxylase  reduces  adult  lifespan  and  fecundity,  and  impairs  embryonic  development  in
parthenogenetic pea aphids. Scientific Reports 6, 34321; doi: 10.1038/srep34321.
Mouton L., Gnankiné O. Henri H., Terraz G., Ketoh G., Martin T., Fleury F. & Vavre F. (2015).  Detection of genetically
isolated entities within the Mediterranean species of  Bemisia tabaci: new insights into the systematics of this worldwide
pest.  Pest Management Science, 71: 452-458.
Mouton L., Gnankiné O., Henri H., Terraz G., Houndeté T., Martin  T., Vavre F. & Fleury F. (2013).  Distribution  Bemisia
tabaci  biotypes (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) and their associated symbiotic bacteria on host plants in western Africa.  Insect
Conservation and Diversity, 6: 411-421.
Rabatel A., Febvay G., Gaget K., Duport  G., Baa-Puyoulet P., Sapountzis P., Bendridi N., Rey M., Rahbé Y., Charles H.,
Calevro F., Colella S. (2013) Tyrosine pathway regulation is host-mediated in the pea aphid symbiosis during late embryonic
and early larval development. BMC Genomics 14(1):235.

Offre de stage M2

Intra-specific variation in the social organisation of old world monkeys and apes

Project summary

Many species are specialised in their social organisation, for example baboons and chimpanzees always living in multi-male multi-female groups. However, it has been realised that in many other species intra-specific variation in social organisation (IVSO: variation in group composition) exists. In collaboration with Loren Hayes from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (USA), we are working on a database of all mammalian species, collecting data on intra-specific variation in social organisation. In the current project, a student will work on old world (Africa and Asia) primates and apes to identify specialised and variable species. Furthermore, data will be gathered on which mechanism might have led to IVSO.

Database data entry: The student will search for primary literature of field studies reporting the social organisation of old world monkeys and apes. The student will use specific search rules that have been developed by Hayes and Schradin and record into the database all forms of social organisation that have been reported per species, the number of field studies, and additional crucial information.

Review of original studies: For all primate species where IVSO has been identified, the student will go through the primary literature of these field studies and collect information that will enable us to differentiate between the four mechanisms that can lead to IVSO (Schradin 2013). Specifically, the student will test the hypotheses that IVSO is most common in species that typically living in family groups with one socially monogamous breeding pair.

Key references:

Agnan, P., Kauffmann, C., Hayes, L.D. Schradin, C. In press. Intra-specific variation in social organization of Strepsirrhines. American Journal of Primatology.

Kappeler, P.M., Schaik, C.P.v., 2002. Evolution of primate social systems. Int J Primatol 23, 707-740.

Schradin, C., 2013. Intraspecific variation in social organization by genetic variation, developmental plasticity, social flexibility or entirely extrinsic factors. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B-Biol. Sci. 368.

Desired skills from student (Compétences souhaitées)

Ability to work hard and independently. Ability to concentrate for long periods for database searches. Ability to communicate and write in English. Knowledge in animal behaviour and statistical analysis.

Skills student will learn (Expertises qui seront acquises au cours de la formation)

Database management, deep understanding of the evolution of social systems and social organisation, management skills (project and time management), statistical analysis, presentation of scientific results, improvement of English skills.

Laboratoire et lieu de stage

Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien

Département d'Ecologie Physiologie et Ethologie

23, rue Becquerel

UMR 7178 CNRS UdS

67087 Strasbourg cedex 2, France

Encadrants

Dr. Carsten Schradin

Contact

Tel: +33 (0)3 88 10 69 19; carsten.schradin@iphc.cnrs.fr

MSc Assistantship, USA (closes Sep 4)

MSc Assistantship in Poultry Science

Poultry stunning for slaughter and/or on-farm euthanasia

Department of Poultry Science
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama, USA

Position starts: January, 2019 Application deadline: September 4, 2018 Contact: Dr. Dianna Bourassa (dvb0006@auburn.edu)

https://www.applied-ethology.org/res/Assistantship%20Description%20-%20Auburn.pdf

PhD Position (3.5 yrs), Canada 23rd Jun 2018

The long-distance transportation of beef cattle

Department of Population Medicine
Ontario Veterinary College
University of Guelph, Canada

Application deadline: until the position is filled Contact: Dr. Derek Haley (dhaley@uoguelph.ca)

https://www.applied-ethology.org/res/UofGuelphPhDStudentshipBeefCattleLongDistanceTransportHaley2.pdf

Postdoc position available at the University of Tokyo

Yazaki-Sugiyama lab at OIST Graduate University is interested in how neuronal circuits are shaped with sensory experiences in the early developmental stage and then guide development of higher cognitive function using bird song learning. As our lab is expanded to have compartmental lab at the International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI-IRCN) at the University of Tokyo (https://ircn.jp/en/), we are seeking productive and motivated Post-Doctoral researchers who are interested in neuronal mechanism for controlling auditory experience guided song learning. We are mainly using electrophysiological method as well as newly developed viral vectors, also are always interested and motivated for incorporating new techniques. Please look up the link

Lecturer position in Animal Physiology and Behaviour

Manchester Metropolitan University is advertising for a full time Lecturer position in Animal Physiology and Behaviour. See https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BKU489/lecturer-animal-physiology-and-behaviour for the advert.

Job of potential interest

A colleague from Denmark ask me to circulate this post they have available (Researcher/assistant professor in interactions between disease management, herd health and production) which may be of interest to some of you

http://anis.au.dk/en/current-news/news/show/artikel/researcherassistant-professor-in-interactions-between-disease-management-herd-health-and-productio/

PhD

We are seeking an enthusiastic and motivated student to join our group for a 3-years PhD fellow based in the Ecology and Ecosystem Health research Unit at INRA-Agrocampus Ouest (Rennes, Brittany, France).

Funding for the PhD are secured for three years, starting in November 2018.

The PhD stands in the framework of the “Samarch” Europeand Interreg France-Channel-England project; www.samarch.org.

The project seeks to analyze the impact of marine ecosystem changes on the survival and life history strategy of anadromous salmonids, including Atlantic salmon and Sea trout, and to transfer this new knowledge into stock assessment models.

The closing date for application is 30^th of September 2018. Please apply preferentially by email, enclosing your CV and a cover letter. Applications will be reviewed on a regular basis during the summer period until the closing date

For further information and application, please contact Dr Marie NEVOUX (marie.nevoux@inra.fr) or Dr. Etienne RIVOT (etienne.rivot@agrocampus-ouest.fr).

Offre de post-doctorat en Neuro-éthologie des bivalves / Post-doc research fellow in Neuroethology of bivalves.

L’Université de Caen Normandie recrute un(e) Ingénieur - e d’études contractuel - le

PhD Position Uncovering intra- and inter-specific movement strategies of large herbivores living in dynamic complex landscapes

SUPERVISORS: Anne LOISON ( Gr enoble Univer s it y) , Luca BORGER ( S wansea Unver sit y)
SUBJECT DESCRIPTION:
In  the  current  ‘Era  of  the  Anthropocene’,  global  human  impact  is  fundamentally  altering  ecological  processes  on  earth.  Thus understanding  and  predicting  how  biodiversity  will  respond  to  environmental  change  has  become  one  of  the  most  pressing questions  for  ecological  research.  Biodiversity  responses  to  global  change  are  ultimately  mediated  by  proximate  behavioural processes of individual organisms, affecting energyintake and expenditure and exposure to risks, and ultimately the distribution and demographic performance of individuals. Movement in particular is a key behavioural response to environmental change determining shifts in the abundance and range of species, yet we still lack the ability to understand and predict in a robust way why, and where, animals move.
The  goal  of  this  PhD  project  is  to  build  upon  the  exceptional  opportunities  offered  by  a  large  set  of  sub-second  biologging (accelerometer, magnetometer) and GPS data collected by an ongoing large UK-France collaboration and aFrench ANR-funded project  running  until  2020  (“Mov-It”),  which  yield  sub-second  movement  paths  with  associated  information  on  the  detailed behaviour, individual state and energy expenditure  of each individual, collected on over 100  individuals of five wild ungulate species and three domestic ones, from six contrasting study areas across France, to develop novel mechanistic, predictive models of individual and species responses to environmental change. This will be achieved by tackling three inter-related, incremental objectives.  Firstly  the  student  will  quantify  movement  decisions  and  costs  under  different  constraints (e.g.  food,  weather, disturbance); then incorporate the estimated costs functions into Agent Based Models and multi-objective optimisation functions to  model  and  map  the  full  set  of  biologically  realistic  movement  strategies  under  environmental  change in  complex,  real landscapes. Thirdly, the student will develop from  the modelling results a scenario planning tool for  managers and landscape planners, allowing to build predictive models of individual movements and population and species redistributions under different scenarios of environmental change and management decisions. These aims will be further facilitated bythe availability of a rich set of biological knowledge on the demography, lifehistory and ecology of the species obtained by thelong-term study sites.
Furthermore, the student will profit from novel statistical and mathematical methods which we have developed to handle such complex, big data and novel quantitative models of animal movement, and to include currencies such as movement costs. Most importantly, the project is based on the understanding that there is not one single solution, in a given landscape, that solves the complex cost-benefit problem facing a herbivore forchoosing where to be, what to do, how long to stay, and where to move next. Thus we look forward to work with an enthusiastic, creative, dedicated student to solve this “MovementRubik’s Cube”. 

The project will be supervised by Anne Loison at Université Grenoble Alpes/Université Savoie Mont-Blanc, and by Luca Borger at Department  of  Biosciences,  College  of  Science  at  Swansea  University.  In  addition,  this  project  will  be plugged  into  existing collaborations with Rowan Brown and Rory Wilson (Swansea University), Jonathan Potts (Sheffield University), and the Mov-It
ANR-funded project consortium (Mathieu Garel- French Game and Wildlife management Office; Jean-Michel Gaillard- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Lyon University; Mark Hewison- National Institute for Agronomy Research, Toulouse)
A total of 18 months will be spent in France, and 18 months in the UK.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Applicants:
-  The  candidate  should  hold  a  Master’s  degree  in  a  relevant  discipline  (behaviour  ecology,  quantitative  ecology,  modelling, mathematics) or be expected to gain one by October 2018, or have a university degree equivalent to a European Master's (5-year duration).   Highly  developed  modelling  expertise,  and  knowledge  of  movement  ecology,  will  be  required. Informal  enquiries
before  the  closing  date  are  welcome  by  emailing  l.borger@swansea.ac.uk and  anne.loison@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr / anne.loison@univ-smb.fr. 

Applicants should send the following documents to
anne.loison@univ-smb.fr. and l.borger@swansea.ac.ukand science-scholarships@swansea.ac.uk :
  Academic References– all scholarship applications require two supporting references to be submitted.
Please ensure that your chosen referees are aware of the funding deadline, as their references form a vital part of the evaluation process. Please either include these with your scholarship application or ask your referees to send them directly by email.
  Academic Transcripts and Degree Certificates – academic transcripts and degree certificates mustbe
submitted along with the scholarship application bythe funding deadline. We will be using these to verify your academic qualifications.
  CV –please include a recent CV
  A short presentation describing your final year scientific project (2 to 3 pages max)
  A motivation letter
Applicants should comply with the application procedure at Swansea University, that is to download the research scholarship application formand return it to the College of Science with all the above mentioned documents.
These documents can also be posted at
Recruitment and Marketing Team, College of Science
Wallace Building, Swansea University
Singleton Park
Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
SELECTION PROCESS
Application deadline: 15/09/2018 at 17:00 (CET)
Applications will be evaluated through a three-stepprocess:
1.  Eligibility check of applications in 16/09/2018
2.  1st round of selection: the applications will be evaluated by a Review Board in September 2018. Results will be given by end of September 2018.
3.  2nd round of selection: shortlisted candidates willbe invited for an interview session in Grenoble inearly October 2018 if necessary.
TYPE of CONTRACT: temporary-3 years of doctoral contract
JOB STATUS: Full time
HOURS PER WEEK: 35
OFFER STARTING DATE: 15 December 2018
APPLICATION DEADLINE: 15/09/2018
Funding:
This is a three year fully-funded College of Science, Swansea University/Université Grenoble Alpes scholarship, open to UK/EU candidates which includes an annual stipend of £14,777 plus full UK/EU tuition fees.
Salary: between 1768.55 € and 2100 € brut per month(depending on complementary activity or not)
Grenoble University : 50% of the funding
Swansea University: 50% of the funding 

Post doc position in comparative cognition (4-yrs), Vienna, Austria

At the Unit of Comparative Cognition, Messerli Research Institute, Vienna, Austria, we are seeking a postdoctoral researcher who is eager to investigate cognitive and emotional processes in non-human animals, especially dogs. At the Clever Dog Lab we are committed to researching the behavioural, physiological (including neuronal) and genetic underpinnings of dog cognition. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to develop her/his own research agenda, using a large repertoire of state-of-the-art techniques and methodologies (including fMRI, eye-tracking, touch screens, automatized video analysis and behaviour annotation) and benefiting from administrative and technical support from members of the unit (including a lab manager, mechanical and electronic technicians and IT personnel). 

Please see the full advertisement here: 

http://www.vetmeduni.ac.at/fileadmin/v/z/mitteilungsblatt/stellen/2017_2018/20180615_Postdoc_Comparative_Cognition.pdf

More details about the unit of Comparative Cognition, Vienna: http://www.vetmeduni.ac.at/en/messerli/science/cognition

Informal enquiries about this post may be directed to Professor Ludwig Huber, ludwig.huber@vetmeduni.ac.at

Application deadline: 8th July 2018. 

Post doc

2-year Postdoctoral Fellow position in Animal Physiology and Behavioural Ecology with Dr Vincent A Viblanc and Dr F Stephen Dobson at the University of Strasbourg, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, France.

Social networking in the Columbian ground squirrel: a bio-logging approach linking animal behavior to individual health and ageing

Ageing is likely influenced by social biology in group-living organisms. However, the mechanisms of interaction between social stressors and stress-related health issues are poorly studied, and the impact of social stress on organismal fitness is virtually unknown. Our research will integrate the links among social stressors, physiological stress indicators, and individual fitness in a colony of ground squirrels observed since 1992. Columbian ground squirrels (Urocitellus columbianus) are semi-social sciurid rodents that inhabit sub-alpine meadows of the Rocky Mountains of Canada and the northern US. They have a matrilineal social system where related individuals overlap both spatially (kin clusters) and over generations. Our current research indicates that individual fitness benefits are acquired by co-breeding with neighbours that are close kin. However the consequences of social heterogeneity on individual physiology and health are unknown.

In this project we will explore the effects that the social environment has on adult phenotype, using a bio-logging approach to measure individual social contacts both above and below ground. We will use an innovative approach, via large scale deployment of  >80 novel contact collars coupled with 3D-accelerometers and magnetometers to establish continuous networks of social interactions throughout the breeding season, and connect individual social attributes to their underlying physiology (glucocorticoid stress hormones, oxidative stress markers, immunity markers and telomere dynamics). More information on the MamTag project can be found here.

Research will be based at the Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (Strasbourg, France, website), and fieldwork will be carried out in the Sheep River Provincial Park (Alberta, Canada, website). The applicant should have a keen interest in working with free-living mammals in outdoor conditions.

The post-doctoral fellow will be responsible for implementing the first stage of the MamTag project. This will include (1) standardization and pre-analysing accelerometer, magnetometer and contact data collected in 2018 (Dec 2018-Mar 2019), (2) deploying loggers and collecting data (including physiological samples) in the field (Apr-Jul 2019), (3) analysing logger signals and developing programming routines to establish social contact networks and animal behaviour (Aug-Mar 2020). The post-doctoral fellow will also assist with the supervision of a PhD student associated with the project, whose research will focus on the social determinants of fitness. The second year of the project will be used to analyse physiological samples at the IPHC and the Centre for the Neurobiology of Stress, University of Toronto, and publish the results.

For this post-doctoral project we are seeking someone who works well in a team environment; who is mobile, creative, highly motivated; and who has a keen interest in integrating animal physiology, behavioural and evolutionary ecology. Our ideal candidate will have a proven record of working on complex signal analyses (accelerometer, compass and environmental data) and developing specific toolboxes for signal analyses (strong expertise in signal processing with Matlab/R/Python). Previous experience working in the field (long hours outdoors, animal handling) and in the lab (ELISA, RIA) is preferred but not essential; the willingness to learn such techniques is, however, required. The candidate should have excellent written and oral communication skills in English and an excellent publication record.

The successful applicant will be mainly based in the Department of Ecology, Physiology & Ethology (DEPE) at the University of Strasbourg, France, under the joint supervision of Dr Vincent A Viblanc and Dr F Stephen Dobson. The DEPE is a lively Department where the post-doctoral fellow will benefit from interaction with a thriving community of postgraduate students, postdocs and researchers in animal physiology, marine biology and behavioral ecology. Furthermore, the applicant will integrate with an international team, and will thus benefit from the interaction and support of research partners, including Rudy Boonstra (University of Toronto), Dominique Filippi (Sextant Technology, New Zealand), and François Criscuolo (IPHC CNRS). The applicant will participate in University of Strasbourg Institute for Advanced Studies (website) actions such as seminars and related activities.

Strasbourg is one of Europe’s most attractive cities, being 1h45 by train from Paris, 1h by plane from Amsterdam and Scandinavia, and at the border with Germany. It has a rich historical and architectural heritage, with Strasbourg's historical city centre being listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Its diversity, pedestrian city centre and 500 km of cycling paths make it a very pleasant city to explore. Vibrant and affordable, Strasbourg is a true student city providing a great learning and living environment (Check out the New York Time's video: 36 Hours in Strasbourg).

Applications must include 1) a cover letter outlining why you want to work on this project, 2) a detailed curriculum vitae including complete list of publications, 3) the contact details of two academic referees, 4) a 1‐page summary of your PhD research and relevant experience in the proposed topic, and 5) two of your key publications or submitted manuscripts. Please send the above as a single pdf file both to vincent.viblanc @iphc.cnrs.fr and fsdobson@msn.com.

Review of applications will start on September 1st 2018 until a suitable candidate is identified. The starting date is December 1st 2018. The postdoc project is fully funded for 2 years by the University of Strasbourg Institute for Advanced Studies. Annual net salary around 27,700 €.

For more information, feel free to contact Vincent Viblanc (vincent.viblanc@iphc.cnrs.fr) or F Stephen Dobson (fsdobson@msn.com).

Funding

University of Strasbourg Institute for Advanced Studies (here).

Suggested reading

·        Viblanc VA*, Schull Q*, Roth JD, Rabdeau J, Saraux C, Uhlrich P, Criscuolo F, Dobson FS. 2018.  Maternal oxidative stress and reproduction: testing the constraint, cost and shielding hypotheses in a wild mammal. Functional Ecology, 32: 722-735. 

·        Viblanc VA*, Pasquaretta C*, Sueur C, Boonstra R & Dobson FS. 2016. Aggression in ground squirrels: relationships with age, kinship, energy allocation and fitness. Behavioral Ecology, 27: 1716-1725.

·        Rubach K, Wu M, Abebe A, Dobson FS, Murie JO & Viblanc VA. 2016. Testing the reproductive and somatic trade-off in female Columbian ground squirrels. Ecology & Evolution, 21: 7586-7595.

·        Viblanc VA, Saraux C, Murie JO & Dobson FS. 2016. Kin effects on energy allocation in group-living ground squirrels. Journal of Animal Ecology, 85: 1361-1369.

·        Dobson FS, Viblanc VA, Coline CM & Murie JO. 2012. Kin selection in Columbian ground squirrels: direct and indirect individual fitness. Molecular Ecology 21: 524-531

·        Viblanc VA, Arnaud C, Dobson FS & Murie JO. 2010. Kin selection in Columbian ground squirrels (Urocitellus columbianus): littermate kin provide individual fitness benefits. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 277: 989-994