vendredi 5 juillet 2019

1.5-year Research Assistant position: Hawaiian crow tool use (deadline: 19 July 2019)

A Research Assistant position is available for 1.5 years (starting 1 August 2019, or soon thereafter) 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, Dr Alison Greggor and Dr Alison Flanagan (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 assist the team with 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 help with data analysis, data management, project planning and public engagement activities. The post-holder will be part of a larger team, and work closely with a post-doctoral research assistant (PDRA), providing excellent training opportunities.

Candidates must have HND level qualification (or comparable) in a relevant subject area (e.g., Biology, Zoology, Psychology), and will ideally have some experience in conducting behavioural experiments and processing scientific data. The post requires a keen interest in animal behaviour research, 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 can be addressed to Professor Rutz (christian.rutz@st-andrews.ac.uk), but all applications must be submitted via the University’s vacancies site.

This role does not meet the minimum requirements set by the UKVI to enable sponsorship of migrant workers. Further information can be found at https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/staff/policy/immigration/.

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: TG1160AS
Closing Date: 19 July 2019
Location: St Andrews
Salary: £19,202
Hours: Full Time
Contract Type: Fixed-Term/Contract