We are looking for a highly motivated postdoc to join the striped mouse project www.stripedmouse.com
and our group at the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg) to
study the influence of the degree of reproductive competition on
sociality. We have two South African funding opportunities (one pending,
one call coming up) and decisions about the funding and the postdoc
position will be made before Christmas 2019.
For
the project, a long-term dataset on social organisation of striped mice
will be available for analyses (from 2003 to present) and further data
collection will extend to 2021. Sociality (% of solitary versus
group-living striped mice) will be studied in relation to population
density and the intensity of reproductive competition, which is (i) very
high during the spring breeding season when all females breed, (ii)
absent during most summer dry seasons, (iii) low during summers with
unexpected rains when few females breed (6 out of 17 summers in the
current data set).
Questions and predictions: We
expect that reduced reproductive competition during summer breeding
will lead to more social instability in spring compared to summer, i.e.
groups to be more stable in summer. We will also study which factors
differ between females that breed during the summer vs. females that
don’t. Finally, the impact of rare summer breeding on population
dynamics will be studied.
Key requirements:
Strong statistical skills. Good understanding of social evolution.
Strong CV with 3 publications from the PhD and at least 1 publication
per year from postdoc studies, some of them in high ranking journals
(impact factor >3). Willingness to spend considerable time in the
field in South Africa. Ability to analyse data and to write manuscripts
while being field based.
What you will learn: Strong
field skills. The postdoc will spend considerable time in the field. It
is expected that the postdoc will prepare and start analysing the
database while being based at the Succulent Karoo Research Station in
South Africa www.stripedmouse.com.
Key references:
Schradin,
C. 2013. Intraspecific variation in social organization by genetic
variation, developmental plasticity, social flexibility or entirely
extrinsic factors. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 368, doi:10.1098/rstb.2012.0346.
Schradin,
C., Hayes, L. D., Pillay, N. & Bertelsmeier, C. 2018. The evolution
of intraspecific variation in social organization. Ethology, 124, 527-536.
Schradin,
C., König, B. & Pillay, N. 2010. Reproductive competition favours
solitary living while ecological constraints impose group-living in
African striped mice. Journal of Animal Ecology, 79, 515-521.
Schradin,
C., Lindholm, A. K., Johannesen, J., Schoepf, I., Yuen, C.-H., König,
B. & Pillay, N. 2012. Social flexibility and social evolution in
mammals: a case study of the African striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio). Molecular Ecology, 21, 541-553.
How to apply: In
a single PDF, send a letter of motivation, your academic CV, and
contact details of a minimum of 2 referees to Carsen Schradin, carsten.schradin@iphc.cnrs.fr and Neville Pillay, neville.pillay@wits.ac.za. Applications will be screened continuously. For full consideration, send your application before the 1st of November 2019.
More information: www.stripedmouse.com, http://www.iphc.cnrs.fr/-Carsten-Schradin-.html, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Neville_Pillay. To get more details on the research questions email Carsten.schradin@iphc.cnrs.fr.