Two
PhD positions available for Sept 2019 start!
1/ Understanding
the effects of environmental chemical mixtures on seabird health and fitness
(Ref IAP2-18-91)
Supervised by Dr Karen Spencer,
St Andrews, Dr Caroline Gauchotte-Lindsay, University of Glasgow and Dr Liz
Humphreys, British Trust for Ornithology.
Seabirds rate as some of the
fastest declining species globally, but the reasons underlying these widespread
declines are not fully understood. One potential reason lies with increasing
levels of pollution.
We manufacture thousands of
different chemicals for use in a range of different products, including
pharmaceuticals, personal care products, detergents and pesticides/fertilisers.
The majority of these ‘environmental chemicals’ (ECs) persist within the
environment, facilitating bioaccumulation and their ubiquitous presence is a
real concern for vertebrate health Worldwide. One major concern is that ECs can
interact with physiological systems, altering many biological processes,
including reproductive ability. There is now a real need to study EC exposure
profiles in an ecologically relevant way to determine the importance of ECs in
driving seabird health changes across the life cycle and estimate
population-level effects.
This innovative and
multi-disciplinary project will focus in on the effects of differential EC
exposure on reproductive success and health in three declining seabird species
that show species differences and individual specialisations in their foraging
habitats: Herring Gull, Greater Black-backed Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull.
These species utilise forage in urban, inland and marine habitats during
breeding and hence are likely to be exposed to a wide range of EC profiles.
This makes them excellent models from which to extrapolate the potential
fitness effects of ECs on other seabird species. As such this project
represents a potential step-change in our understanding of anthropogenic
impacts on wildlife populations.
Further details - file:///C:/Users/kas21/Documents/IAP2-18-91_StAndrews_Spencer.pdf
All enquiries to Karen.spencer@st-andrews.ac.uk
– make sure you contact me soon – final application deadline is 18th January 2019!
2/ Pre-natal acoustic programming in birds
Supervised by Dr Karen Spencer, St Andrews and Prof.
Simone Meddle, Roslin Institute, Edinburgh.
Even before it
is born the conditions an animal experiences can have profound long-term
effects on later phenotypes. This phenomenon of developmental programming has
led to an increasing focus on how pre-natal conditions can impact on the health
and welfare of animals, particularly in avian species. However, the main focus
of research in this areas has been into in-ovo factors, such as hormones or
yolk nutritional value. Avian embryos are regularly exposed to ‘external’
acoustic stimuli, including natural conspecific calls and anthropogenic noise.
Recent work from the Mechanisms of Behaviour group at St Andrews has shown that
embryonic exposure to different sound types can program different
neuroendocrine and behavioural phenotypes in early post-natal life in Japanese
quail. This suggests that external stimuli may also play a role in shaping
later health outcomes and they could be a tool for optimising welfare. However
several questions still remain unanswered: 1. Are phenotypic responses to
pre-natal acoustic stimuli adaptive in that they prepare an individual for the
post-natal environment? 2. How persistent are acoustically altered
phenotypes into the post-natal period and 3. What are the mechanisms by which
acoustic stimuli alter phenotypic traits in the short and long-term?
This PhD project
will utilise a range of techniques to answer these three questions using a
well-established captive avian model, the Japanese quail. There will also be
the possibility to extend the work into free living birds, using the
semi-precocial herring gull as a model. The project will integrate information
across different levels of complexity, from organismal to molecular to truly
understand how pre-natal acoustic stimuli can shape avian phenotypes. The
student will gain experience in behavioural assays, bioacoustics, physiological
assays, neuroendocrine measurement, immunohistochemistry and cutting edge
molecular techniques. One aim of the project will be to use RNA seq analyses to
identify candidate mechanisms for the potential programming effects of
different acoustic stimuli. Work on captive species may also lead to the
development of tools for the poultry industry to maximise avian chick welfare,
which would allow the student to gain experience of applied research.
Full details of
how to apply can be found here: https://www.findaphd.com/search/ProjectDetails.aspx?PJID=101263
Please contact Karen.spencer@st-andrews.ac.uk
first – make sure you contact me soon – final application deadline is 5th December 2018!