We are looking for a MSc-level intern to join our behavioural ecology
team at the University of Bern for a duration of 4-6 months. The
starting date of the project is flexible, and there is the option to
begin in January 2020 to fit the requirements of a M2 internship.
Background
Cooperative breeding refers to a social system in which individuals delay their own reproduction and help conspecifics to raise their offspring (e.g. Clutton-Brock, 2002). By this definition, helping behaviour has to be initially costly for the donor (helpers) but ultimately enhance the fitness of both the donors and recipients (breeders). Some studies have measured the cost of helping by measuring time-energy budgets or looking into long term fitness effects (Heinsohn & Legge, 1999; Taborsky & Grantner, 1998; Wong & Balshine, 2011). However, few studies have manipulated the cost of help to observe how helpers trade-off the increased cost of helping. We will use the cooperatively breeding cichlid species Neolamprologus pulcher as model. We aim to manipulate the availability of oxygen by providing CO2 in the water column, and assign them to different challenges to induce helping behaviour, such as territorial defence and sand digging. We predict helpers will compensate the increased cost of helping by a decrease in helping effort. We also aim to assess whether this trade-off will be accepted by the breeders, or if the helper will get punished after decreasing its effort. In the latter case, we expect the helping amount to be consistent between the control and the treatment.
Clutton-Brock, T. (2002). Breeding together: kin selection and mutualism in cooperative vertebrates. Science, 296(5565), 69-72. Heinsohn, R., & Legge, S. (1999). The cost of helping. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 14(2), 53- 57.
Taborsky, M., & Grantner, A. (1998). Behavioural time–energy budgets of cooperatively breeding Neolamprologus pulcher (Pisces: Cichlidae). Animal Behaviour, 56(6), 1375-1382. Wong, M., & Balshine, S. (2011). The evolution of cooperative breeding in the African cichlid fish, Neolamprologus pulcher. Biological Reviews, 86(2), 511-530.
Profile required
-Being a MSc-level graduate student in behavioural ecology or another relevant field.
-Having previous experience in performing animal behaviour experiments (previous experience with fish behaviour would be a valuable addition).
-Knowledge of statistics and R software is desirable.
-Good English oral and written expression is compulsory (no German skills required).
-Being enthusiastic about the project, self-motivated, autonomous, and flexible with time.
Employment conditions
Supervision: close supervision will be provided by Irene García Ruiz and Lorenzo Arduini (PhD students). The student will benefit in learning how to perform behavioural observations, video analyses, statistical analyses and scientific writing. Formal supervision will be held by Prof. Michael Taborsky (see website).
Salary: no wage can be provided to the intern. However, accommodation is provided on-site, and travel expenses will be covered.
Working schedule: flexible and depending on the stage of the project. We count on the intern’s autonomy on this regard.
Vacation: depending on the actual duration of the project, the possibility of holidays shall be discussed and, if any, arranged in such a way that there is no interference with the execution of the project.
Location
The project will take place at the University of Bern, at the beautiful Ethologische Station Hasli (Wohlenstrasse 50A, 3032 Hinterkappelen (BE), Switzerland). Located between the Eymatt forest and the Aare, our facilities are just a few minutes away from Bern by car, bus or biking.
Application
Interested applicants should send a CV along with a cover letter describing their research interests at lorenzo.arduini@iee.unibe.ch and irene.garcia@iee.unibe.ch. Please make sure you send your application to both addresses. The same contact details stand for any request of information.
Deadline
Applications will be received until August 15th. A short Skype meeting will be arranged with relevant candidates during that period or shortly after. The final decision shall be made by the end of August.
Background
Cooperative breeding refers to a social system in which individuals delay their own reproduction and help conspecifics to raise their offspring (e.g. Clutton-Brock, 2002). By this definition, helping behaviour has to be initially costly for the donor (helpers) but ultimately enhance the fitness of both the donors and recipients (breeders). Some studies have measured the cost of helping by measuring time-energy budgets or looking into long term fitness effects (Heinsohn & Legge, 1999; Taborsky & Grantner, 1998; Wong & Balshine, 2011). However, few studies have manipulated the cost of help to observe how helpers trade-off the increased cost of helping. We will use the cooperatively breeding cichlid species Neolamprologus pulcher as model. We aim to manipulate the availability of oxygen by providing CO2 in the water column, and assign them to different challenges to induce helping behaviour, such as territorial defence and sand digging. We predict helpers will compensate the increased cost of helping by a decrease in helping effort. We also aim to assess whether this trade-off will be accepted by the breeders, or if the helper will get punished after decreasing its effort. In the latter case, we expect the helping amount to be consistent between the control and the treatment.
Clutton-Brock, T. (2002). Breeding together: kin selection and mutualism in cooperative vertebrates. Science, 296(5565), 69-72. Heinsohn, R., & Legge, S. (1999). The cost of helping. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 14(2), 53- 57.
Taborsky, M., & Grantner, A. (1998). Behavioural time–energy budgets of cooperatively breeding Neolamprologus pulcher (Pisces: Cichlidae). Animal Behaviour, 56(6), 1375-1382. Wong, M., & Balshine, S. (2011). The evolution of cooperative breeding in the African cichlid fish, Neolamprologus pulcher. Biological Reviews, 86(2), 511-530.
Profile required
-Being a MSc-level graduate student in behavioural ecology or another relevant field.
-Having previous experience in performing animal behaviour experiments (previous experience with fish behaviour would be a valuable addition).
-Knowledge of statistics and R software is desirable.
-Good English oral and written expression is compulsory (no German skills required).
-Being enthusiastic about the project, self-motivated, autonomous, and flexible with time.
Employment conditions
Supervision: close supervision will be provided by Irene García Ruiz and Lorenzo Arduini (PhD students). The student will benefit in learning how to perform behavioural observations, video analyses, statistical analyses and scientific writing. Formal supervision will be held by Prof. Michael Taborsky (see website).
Salary: no wage can be provided to the intern. However, accommodation is provided on-site, and travel expenses will be covered.
Working schedule: flexible and depending on the stage of the project. We count on the intern’s autonomy on this regard.
Vacation: depending on the actual duration of the project, the possibility of holidays shall be discussed and, if any, arranged in such a way that there is no interference with the execution of the project.
Location
The project will take place at the University of Bern, at the beautiful Ethologische Station Hasli (Wohlenstrasse 50A, 3032 Hinterkappelen (BE), Switzerland). Located between the Eymatt forest and the Aare, our facilities are just a few minutes away from Bern by car, bus or biking.
Application
Interested applicants should send a CV along with a cover letter describing their research interests at lorenzo.arduini@iee.unibe.ch and irene.garcia@iee.unibe.ch. Please make sure you send your application to both addresses. The same contact details stand for any request of information.
Deadline
Applications will be received until August 15th. A short Skype meeting will be arranged with relevant candidates during that period or shortly after. The final decision shall be made by the end of August.