Project
1. Assessing the impact of environmental chemicals on seabird development and health.
Lead
supervisor: Professor Karen Spencer, Psychology & Neuroscience,
University of St Andrews; Co-supervisors: Dr Mark Taggart, Environmental
Contamination and Ecological Health laboratory, University of Highlands
and Islands; Dr Liz Humphreys, BTO Scotland.
Seabirds
rate as some of the fastest declining species globally, but the
reasons underlying widespread declines are not fully understood. One
potential driver may be increased exposure to pollution. Since the
mid-1900s, more than 140,000 novel chemicals have been
manufactured, and their ubiquitous use in everyday products has
resulted in a cumulative increase in the rate of release into the global
environment. Many of these environmental chemicals (ECs) exhibit
persistence, facilitating bioaccumulation, particularly
in animals feeding at higher trophic levels. While the distribution of
these ECs is heterogeneous, the marine environment is the major endpoint
for many of these chemicals, as watercourses from all types of
environment converge at the coast.
This
PhD project aims to understand the effects of exposure to multiple ECs
on seabird development, health and survival by studying the Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla). Kittiwakes
are the UKs most abundant gull species and the UK hosts approximately
8% of
the global population. Despite their ubiquity, this species has seen a
substantial reduction in population size over the last 30 years. Whilst
changes in prey abundance are likely a key driver, their vulnerability
to EC exposure may be exacerbating these effects.
The
successful applicant will get the opportunity to learn advanced
analytical techniques that can quantify the concentration of multiple
chemical families, in order to determine EC exposure profiles within a
population (e.g. liquid chromatography (LC-MS/MS) and
gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS)). This novel approach
will continue as the student then uses a suite of physiological,
behavioural and observational methodologies to determine changes in
physiological functioning and health in birds during
post-natal development (radioimmunoassay, ELISA, immune function
tests). The student will then be able to relate individual EC exposure
profiles to specific health outcomes and utilise a longitudinal approach
to track changes in EC exposure and health with
age. Once the effects of EC exposure have been explored the student
will have the opportunity to design experimental studies, which
manipulate the environment the chick experiences to look at the additive
or interactive effects additional stressors have on
the health of these birds. This will give an insight into the
importance of EC exposure across an environmental quality gradient.
This
is funded by the NERC SUPER Doctoral Training program (https://superdtp.st-andrews.ac.uk/)
and is open to all UK/EU students. This project has direct funding.
Deadline
15th January 2020 - please email kas21@st-andrews to apply.
Project 2:Pre-natal
soundscapes: understanding the functional significance of embryonic responses to external sounds.
Supervisors:
Professor Karen Spencer, St Andrews & Professor Simone Meddle, Roslin Institute.
This
project is part of the EASTBio DTP, and is open to UK/EU citizens. Full
details of how to apply and eligibility can be found at:
Deadline: 5th January 2020.
Project
3: Assessing the impacts of anthropogenic soundscapes on cognitive and behavioural development in birds.
Supervisor:
Professor Karen Spencer, St Andrews.
This
project is funded internally by the School of Psychology and
Neuroscience and is part of a competitive PhD program. It is open to all
students. Further details on how to apply can be found at:
https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/psychology-neuroscience/prospective/pgr/
The
avian egg represents a feat of evolutionary engineering, providing all
the components required for embryonic growth in a self-contained
package. However, producing a package that develops external to the
mother also means that the embryo is regularly exposed
to external factors such as environmental sound. Recent work has shown
that avian embryos can not only hear these sounds but are able to
potentially discriminate between sounds and utilise these as cues in
post-natal life. Work in the Mechanisms of Behaviour
group at St Andrews has further suggested that pre-natal soundscapes
can alter the development of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis
(HPA) – the physiological system that underpins the response to stress
in vertebrates. Altered HPA axis functioning has
been linked to changes in wellbeing in a wide range of species and we
already know that elevated stress during pre-natal development can have
negative health outcomes in later life and impact on cognitive
abilities.
These two PhD projects will investigate the effects of different embryonic soundscapes on later phenotypes. Project 2 will focus on health and welfare indicators and Project 3 will focus on behavioural development and cognition. Both projects will look at these important issues using poultry and laboratory bird models. There may also be the possibility to extend the work into avian rehabilitation centres focussing on the effects of incubation soundscapes on juvenile development and rehabilitation success for project 2. Please email kas21@st-andrews for further details.
These two PhD projects will investigate the effects of different embryonic soundscapes on later phenotypes. Project 2 will focus on health and welfare indicators and Project 3 will focus on behavioural development and cognition. Both projects will look at these important issues using poultry and laboratory bird models. There may also be the possibility to extend the work into avian rehabilitation centres focussing on the effects of incubation soundscapes on juvenile development and rehabilitation success for project 2. Please email kas21@st-andrews for further details.