In
the recently funded project “The interplay between animal personality
and sexual selection” we will investigate how personality
differences are reflected in behaviours such as male-male competition
and space use, mate choice, and parental care; and how these differences
ultimately affect an individual’s survival and reproductive
performance. The project will focus on the model species
Allobates femoralis, a Neotropical poison frog with a prolonged
breeding season, pronounced male territoriality, and male parental care.
The study will be carried out in an experimental island population in
French Guiana. Complimentary experiments can be carried
out in the laboratory frog population at the University of Vienna. One
unique feature of this project is our ability to monitor, assay, and
track an entire animal population in its natural habitat in an island
setup over several generations. By identifying
respective costs and benefits of specific personality profiles, the
proposed project will help us to better understand how behavioural
variation can persist over evolutionary time.
We
are looking for a highly motivated PhD student, who will be responsible
for conducting the field experiments (typically
from end of January to end of April each year), molecular analyses
(parentage, relatedness), and/or hormonal and bioacoustics analyses.
Particular focus of the PhD thesis will be negotiated depending on the
candidate’s specific interests and/or skills. However,
priority will be given to applicants with previous experience working
in tropical environments, frogs, animal personality, molecular analyses,
hormonal analyses, and/or bioacoustics.
Our
lab welcomes applications from outstanding students with a passion for
research and field work. The candidate must be
willing and capable to spend up to 3-4 months each year in a tropical
research station under relatively simple living conditions (sleeping in
hammock, restricted privacy, simple sanitary facilities). Fieldwork can
get physically challenging and the river island
can only be reached via a zipline or paddling boat.
Salary: according to the rates of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) for PhD students: 30 hours/week, € 2.112,40 gross salary
per month, incl. health care.
Our
lab is based at the Messerli Research Institute (Unit of Comparative
Cognition), from the University of Veterinary Medicine
Vienna. Other research groups in this unit focus on canines (dogs and
wolves), farm animals (pig, horse, pigeon, chicken) and also other
wildlife (kea, Goffin cockatoo), to employ a highly comparative and
integrative approach in studying animal behaviour and
cognition.
See following links for further information:
PI website:
https://www.evaringler.info/
Project website:
https://www.femoralisproject.info/
Austrian Science Fund:
https://www.fwf.ac.at
Field site:
http://www.nouragues.cnrs.fr/
Messerli Research Institute:
https://www.vetmeduni.ac.at/en/messerli/science/cognition/
Contact: Eva Ringler, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria. eva.ringler[at]vetmeduni.ac.at
Please send a CV, master certificate (taken courses and grades), and short (1 page) motivation letter until 24.08.2018 to
eva.ringler[at]vetmeduni.ac.at
Expected starting date: 01.10.2018