A postdoctoral
position is available for 3.5 years (starting 1 August 2019) in
Professor Christian Rutz’s research group at the University of St
Andrews, to investigate the tool behaviour
of captive Hawaiian crows. The post is part of a BBSRC-funded project,
involving close collaboration between Professor Rutz (PI; School of
Biology), Professor Josep Call (Co-I; School of Psychology and
Neuroscience), Dr Ron Swaisgood, Bryce Masuda and Dr Alison
Greggor (overseas project partners; San Diego Zoo Global), Dr William
Hoppitt (statistical consultant), and several other team members.
It was recently
discovered that the critically-endangered Hawaiian crow is a highly
dexterous tool user (Rutz et al. 2016, Nature 537, 403-407). The present
project will chart the species’
tool-related skills, and other behavioural competencies, by running the
world’s entire captive adult population of crows (>100 birds) on a
newly-developed behavioural test battery.
The post-holder
will be in charge of organising and running behavioural experiments,
involving annual visits to Hawaii (USA) of ~6 months. In-between field
trips, they will be based in the
Centre for Biological Diversity at the University of St Andrews, to
analyse and write-up data, to liaise with collaborators, and to
contribute to outreach activities. The post-holder will work as part of a
larger team, and share some project-management and
supervision responsibilities.
Candidates must
hold a doctorate in a relevant subject area (e.g., Biology, Zoology,
Psychology), and have proven skills in conducting behavioural
experiments, processing and analysing data,
and publishing papers in leading journals in the field. The post
requires a high degree of self-motivation and independence, effective
communication and team work, meticulous data collection and record
keeping, and excellent organisational, time-management
and practical problem-solving skills.
Informal enquiries (with CV) can be addressed to Professor Rutz (christian.rutz@st-andrews.ac.uk), but all applications must be submitted via the University’s vacancies site.
The University is
committed to equality for all, demonstrated through our working on
diversity awards (ECU Athena SWAN/Race Charters; Carer Positive; LGBT
Charter; and Stonewall).
More details can be found at: http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/hr/edi/diversityawards/.
Further particulars, and an application link, can be found here:
Reference: AR2232AS
Closing Date: 12 July 2019
Location: St Andrews
Salary: £33,199 to £36,261
Hours: Full Time
Contract Type: Fixed-Term/Contract