Offre de thèse de doctorat sur le bien-être du cheval

 Le laboratoire Cognition Ethologie Bien-être Animal de l’INRAE Centre Val de Loire (Tours) propose une thèse sur le bien-être du cheval (début septembre 2022, pour 3 ans). La thèse sera encadrée par Léa LANSADE (PhD, HDR). Nous recherchons une personne fortement intéressée par l’éthologie et le bien-être des animaux, avec un très bon CV académique et qui se sentira à l’aise dans le milieu équestre. Un permis de conduire et un véhicule sont requis.

 

Les candidats intéressés, en cours de M2 (diplômés en juin 2022) ou déjà titulaires d’un M2, peuvent envoyer au plus vite leur candidature à lea.lansade@inrae.fr (CV et lettre de motivation précisant l’intérêt pour la recherche en éthologie et pour la filière équestre, avant mi-mars 2022).

 

Information sur le laboratoire : https://www6.val-de-loire.inrae.fr/umrprc-ethologie-cognition/

 

CM Job Advert

 JOB CAMP MANAGER at TAI Chimpanzee Project

Contract duration 24 months

Start date Jul 1, 2022

Salary: Entre 2088 et 2206 Euros

Ingenieur for behavioural ecologist, anthropologist or conservationist to manage the long-term field site of TCP in Cote d’Ivoire, Tai National Park.

Mission: The Tai Chimpanzee Project (TCP) is a long-term field site situated in the Tai National Park in Ivory Coast. At TCP we investigate the behavior and the cognition of wild chimpanzees and mangabeys since over 40 years. The successful candidate will manage the daily processes in the field site under supervision of the director of TCP based at the ISC Marc Jeannerod in Lyon (F) following protocols in place. The candidate is supposed also to follow and observe the chimpanzees and invest in creating research ideas, which can lead into a PhD project at TCP.

Activities: The successful candidate will manage the daily processes in the field site, like for example: pay salaries, create working schedules, supervise data collection, clean and store data, 
oversee repairs of camps and cars, reinforce health and quarantine regulations, keep supplies running, and more. This will follow existing protocols and is supervised by the director of TCP, 
Roman Wittig, based at the ISC Marc Jeannerod in Lyon (F). In addition the successful candidate is requested to follow and observe the chimpanzees, collect behavioural data, urine and fecal 
samples and other data for the long-term data collection of TCP. It is explicitly wished that the successful candidate develops research ideas that can lead into a PhD project at TCP.

Competence: The successful candidate has experience in managing a team, can work independently following a protocol, is resilient to stress, and has experience in living under remote conditions. Since we are a research project, scientific interest in the research with wild great apes is conditional. A Master in behavioural ecology, anthropology or psychology is of advantage. The candidate must be fluent in English and French and needs to be socially mature and has good problem solving skills. Experience in Africa, where the candidate worked at a field site conducting behavioural observations on social mammals will be of advantage.

Context du travaille: The successful candidate will be part of TCP within the Ape Social Mind Lab at UMR 5229 and report directly to the directors of TCP Roman Wittig and Catherine Crockford

Risks: This work is at a remote field site.

Ce travail est effectué sur un site éloigné.

 

Please apply via: https://bit.ly/3BJG0cu

Poste de technicien de recherche en comportement/bien-être animal à l'UMR Herbivores (concours externe)

Un poste de technicien en comportement/bien-être animal est ouvert par concours externe au sein de l’UMR Herbivores, dans notre équipe (CARAIBE).

Le détail du poste et des modalités de concours sont consultable en suivant ce lien :

https://jobs.inrae.fr/concours/concours-externes-ingenieurs-cadres-techniciens-h-f/tr22-phase-1

Funded PhD Studentship - bird song culture

 Primary supervisor: Dr Robert Lachlan

Institution Details: Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London

Collaborative partner: British Trust for Ornithology (BTO)

 

Degree structure: full-time four-year PhD programme

 

Project background:

Vocal culture is central to human life, but we know little of how its key underlying trait, vocal learning, evolves. Bird song provides an ideal system to explore this topic, due to its diversity of species, each with its own style of vocal learning. In this project, we will make use of recently developed techniques to measure song and infer learning abilities from simulations of cultural evolution. We will compare vocal learning across one taxon (Emberiza buntings) and conduct a citizen science project to explore cultural evolution in garden bird species. Our project will provide insight into the evolution of cultural behaviour, while involving birdwatchers in a cultural evolutionary and evolutionary research project.

 

Project description:

The PhD project will be based around two top-level studies:

Project 1. Comparative cultural evolution in Emberiza. We will combine existing data-sets with data collected by the student during the project in Scandinavia (Norway/Finland) and Japan to make inferences about how learning abilities vary within this genus.

Project 2. Cultural evolution in song at a national scale. In collaboration with the BTO we will set up a national citizen-science survey of how garden bird song varies across the UK, to explore how song varies at this scale.

 

Who we are looking for:

We are looking for a PhD candidate with the potential to conduct ornithological fieldwork in remote locations, to engage people in a citizen science project, and to learn the bioacoustics and cultural evolutionary analytical tools needed to analyse the data you will collect. 

 

Who we are:

The project is based at the Department of Psychology at Royal Holloway – a friendly and supportive department with an excellent research reputation.  Our research group (https://www.cuco.group) is made up of researchers with expertise in animal communication and cultural evolution. We have pioneered the bioacoustics and cultural evolutionary techniques that will underpin this project. The project will be carried out in collaboration with Dr Joe Cooper an expert in citizen science based at the BTO.

 

Please feel free to get in touch to discuss the project in more detail: Robert.Lachlan@rhul.ac.uk

Training Opportunities:

A comprehensive package of training will be agreed in consultation with the supervisors. Elements of training will be provided by the supervisors, Royal Holloway, University of London, and by other providers.

 

Applicants: essential and/or desirable attributes/skills:

The ideal candidate will show an interest in animal behaviour. Applicants should have the equivalent of a 2.1-honours in Psychology, or a related discipline, and meet College requirements for English (for international students). Strong communication, quantitative, field and organisational skills are necessary. Field ornithology skills are desirable.

 

Studentship Details:

This studentship is funded for four years.

·     The studentship award covers Home (UK) fees and provides you with a stipend of £18,489 per year. 

·     Funding is provided for research costs (e.g. fieldwork, and cloud computing) and conference attendance.

Note: applications may be considered from applicants from outside the UK. But applicants not eligible for “Home” student status will be required to provide evidence of additional funding that you have secured to cover the difference between home and International fee rates across the four years of study.

 

How to apply for this studentship:

Please apply via the College online application system.

 

Provide your c.v. and a personal research statement. The personal research statement should detail: (a) your research skills and experiences to date in areas relevant to this PhD project and (b) your reasons for applying for this particular studentship.

 

Deadline:

The deadline for applying to Royal Holloway University of London for a place is 23:59 GMT on 21st March 2022. No extensions to this deadline will be permitted.

 

For further enquiries:

For enquiries related to the studentship topic, please email Dr Robert Lachlan (Robert.Lachlan@rhul.ac.uk) 

Post doc

 Keywords: Machine Learning, Bioacoustics, Deep Representation Learning, Soundscapes, Prediction, Visualization, AI-assisted Science. Location: University of Saint-Étienne (France) Duration: 2-year position, starting between now and September 2022 TL;DR You have a strong background in machine learning? You want to develop new methods to help tackling global change? You want to contribute to a AI+bioacoustics platform? We are looking for a dynamic and motivated candidate to work in a stimulating environment at the intersection of two very active teams, one specialized in machine learning and the other in bioacoustics. PROJECT SUMMARY In the context of global change, the use of aerial or aquatic soundscapes to characterize the complexity and dynamics of natural environments is rapidly developing. Processing the large volumes of data collected (sound recordings of very long duration) and optimizing interpretable models of soundscape classification using Artificial Intelligence techniques represent major scientific challenges. The post-doc will develop novel machine learning approaches inspired and driven by bioacoustics applications. The successful candidate will contribute to the scientific core of a platform using Artificial Intelligence for Bioacoustics, based on new approaches for analysis, visualization and classification of natural soundscapes. This project will be developed along 3 axes: 1) Learning and interpretation of soundscape representations, 2) Development of prediction models, 3) Development of an AI platform for bioacoustics. 1/2 SOUGHT QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS ✔ A Ph.D. in statistical machine learning (or related) ✔ Strong programming and data analysis skills ✔ Curiosity and eagerness to work at the crossroads of two domains ✔ Prior experience with bioacoustics data (or audio or signal) is a plus ✔ Experience/interest for end-user application development can be leveraged GENERAL TASKS AND DIRECTIONS • Creation of new representation/deep learning approaches for audio data • Proposal of new similarity measures targeted to clustering and visualization • Systematic evaluation of the methods on a variety of bioacoustics datasets • Suggestion of novel use cases/applications of AI methods in bioacoustics • Participation in the fieldwork to better understand bioacoustics processes • Contributions will be integrated in an open platform (a prototype already exists and the project have dedicated engineering support to improve it). • The successful candidate will have the opportunity to publish contributions in both computer science machine learning and bioacoustics. Contact both: • Rémi Emonet remi.emonet@univ-st-etienne.fr • Nicolas Mathevon mathevon@univ-st-etie nne.fr LABORATORIES INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT The post-doc will work in the stimulating environment offered by two laboratories from University of Saint-Étienne. • The ENES (eneslab.com) is a research team focused on bioacoustics (Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, CNRS, Inserm, University of St-Etienne), member of the Labex CeLyA (Centre Lyonnais d'Acoustique)(publications in Nature Communications in 2020, 2021, Current Biology 2022; numerous collaborations with foreign laboratories; 2 professors senior members of the Institut universitaire de France). The ENES constitutes a unique ecosystem dedicated to bioacoustics, with a team of about twenty researchers (PhD Students, Post-docs, Associate and Full Professors) and associated training courses (Bioacoustics Winter School, International Master of Bioacoustics). • The Hubert Curien laboratory is a research unit (UJM-CNRS-IOGS) covering activities in optics, photonics, surface engineering, computer science, security and image processing. This lab coordinates the Labex MANUTECH-SISE, the EquipEx MANUTECH-USD and the EUR MANUTECH SLEIGHT. It also coordinates numerous ANR and European projects and is involved in the Labex PRIMES and MILYON. Its Artificial Intelligence (Data Intelligence) team has strong expertise in Machine Learning (NeurIPS, ICML, IJCAI, AISTATS, AAAI, etc.). SOME PUBLICATIONS FROM THE TWO TEAMS • Grinfeder, E., Haupert, S., Ducrettet, M. et al. Soundscape dynamics of a cold protected forest: dominance of aircraft noise. Landscape Ecology 37, 567–582 (2022). • Marin-Cudraz,T., Muffat-Joly, B., Novoa, C., Aubry, P., Desmet, J-F.,et al.. Acoustic monitoring of rock ptarmigan: A multi-year comparison with point-count protocol. Ecological Indicators, 101,710-719 (2019). • Kerdoncuff T., Emonet R., Sebban M., Sampled Gromov Wasserstein. Machine Learning 110 (8), 2151-2186 (2021). • Viola R., Emonet R., Habrard A., Metzler G., Sebban M., Learning from few positives: a provably accurate metric learning algorithm to deal with imbalanced data. IJCAI-PRICAI (2020). • Emonet R., Varadarajan J., Odobez J-M. Temporal analysis of motif mixtures using dirichlet processes. IEEE TPAMI 36 (1), 140-156 (2013)

Service Civique : Participer aux activités d’habituation

 WILD CHIMPANZEE FOUNDATION

                                    Poste à pourvoir

Service Civique : Participer aux activités d’habituation des primates dans le Parc national de Taï, Côte d’Ivoire

 

Structure d’embauche :

Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF) / la Fondation pour les Chimpanzés Sauvages

Nous recherchons un(e) volontaire pour un poste au sein de l’équipe d’habituation pour apporter une assistance aux activités liée à l’habituation des groupes de colobes rouge et de mangabeys et appuyer la recherche des chimpanzés (assurée par un autre superviseur) dans la zone de Taï dans le Parc national de Taï (PNT).

 

Contexte :

Le PNT est le plus grand espace protégé de la forêt tropicale humide d’Afrique de l’Ouest, un patrimoine mondial de l’UNESCO. Il abrite de manière impressionnante 12 espèces de primates, incluant les chimpanzés, tout comme les éléphants de la forêt, les hippopotames pygmées, les léopards et plusieurs espèces de céphalophes entre autres.

 

Le/la volontaire aura la tâche de suivre et de participer à la coordination de l’équipe constituée de guides locaux travaillant chaque jour dans le parc afin d’habituer les groupes de primates pour la conservation mais aussi dans le cadre d'un projet d’écotourisme.

 

Les guides collectent des données sur les primates qu’ils suivent chaque jour. Ces données doivent être vérifiées et validées par le/la volontaire. Des analyses simples seront également faites, afin de suivre l’évolution du processus d’habituation ainsi que des rapports mensuels. Nous avons besoin d’un(e) volontaire qui puisse faire avancer le processus d’habituation et assurer un suivi constant du groupe de primates.

 

L’habituation des primates est un travail délicat qui s’étend sur de longs jours et demande un travail assidu dans un environnement isolé de la forêt tropicale africaine. Une mission en forêt dure en général 8 jours suivie par 5 jours au village (village de Taï).

 

Le/la volontaire travaillera en collaboration étroite avec la coordinatrice à Taï, et travaillera également avec la chargée de communication pour faire remonter et partager les informations intéressantes à la communication du projet d’écotourisme. Le/la volontaire pourra être amené(e) à participer à des évènements à l’écomusée de Taï (formation, animations touristiques et autres évènements locaux).

 

Ce travail présente une excellente opportunité pour acquérir une expérience de terrain pour celles et ceux qui souhaitent poursuivre leur étude par un doctorat ou travailler dans le domaine de la conservation. Le volontaire participera à la collecte de données et pourra ainsi avoir une expérience dans les techniques de terrains.

 

Qualifications/Expériences :

Ce volontariat s’adresse aux personnes ayant des compétences en environnement/écologie et souhaitant travailler dans le domaine de la conservation.

 

Une expérience de terrain préalable est souhaitable mais pas nécessaire. Le travail effectué en forêt nécessite d’avoir une bonne condition physique et d’être capable de travailler de façon autonome dans les conditions difficiles propres aux forêts tropicales humides.

 

Le candidat sera la plupart du temps dans un camp en forêt avec les guides locaux. Une bonne aptitude à la socialisation est donc nécessaire.

 

Lors de ses séjours au village, le candidat sera logé dans la maison de la WCF, en collocation avec deux autres personnes, et bénéficiera ainsi d’une chambre, ainsi que d’une cuisine et une salle de bain partagées. Les conditions de vie au village sont simples (coupures d’électricité se produisent régulièrement et il n’y pas d’eau courante actuellement), donc le volontaire doit être capable de s’adapter à un mode de vie rudimentaire.

 

Conditions :

Etre éligible au Service Civique (pour cela, avoir moins de 26 ans). Les conditions sont détaillées sur le site suivant : https://www.service-civique.gouv.fr/page/les-conditions-pour-m-engager

Indemnité mensuelle versée au volontaire par l’Agence de Service Civique français.

Billet d’avion aller/retour remboursé à l’issue des 12 mois de mission.

Une assurance santé ainsi qu’une assurance rapatriement seront fournies pour la durée du volontariat.

Une disponibilité urgente est souhaitée, pour une prise de poste au 1er Mars 2022.

 

Le candidat retenu devra obligatoirement prévoir de participer à une préparation au départ d’une semaine organisée par le SCD à Limonest (69, près de Lyon) au cours du mois de février 2022.

 

Langue requise : Français (courant), anglais (bon niveau souhaité)

 

Début du mandat : A partir du 1er Mars 2022, pour 1 an

Délai de dépôt des candidatures : (le plus rapidement possible) 15 février 2022.

 

Envoi des candidatures : Contactez-nous par mail à : normand@wildchimps.org  et à colin@wildchimps.org avec comme objet « VSC_Habituation_Nom»

 

Information sur la structure :

Site web : http://www.wildchimps.org

Advertisement for short-term research position

 

Reneco International Wildlife Consultants: paid short-term research assistant position.

 

We are seeking a research assistant to help conduct behavioural testing in a captive-bred population of North African houbara bustards (Chlamydotis undulata undulata) at the Emirates Centre for Wildlife Propagation (ECWP) in Missour, Morocco.

The succesful applicant will join an ongoing research project exploring interplays between individual behaviour, cognitive abilities, post-release movements and survival.

The assistant tasks will involve behavioural testing of houbara bustards under captive conditions and possibly in the wild, to assess individual temperamental traits (a.k.a. personality) and cognitive abilities (e.g., learning). Data entry and video analysis will also be part of required duties.

The position should ideally start beginning of March 2022 and last for a period of 4 to 6 months; however, later start dates (e.g. April 2022) may also be possible. Besides a monthly 600 euros salary, travel expenses, onsite accommodation and food will also be covered.

Successful applicants should have:

·       Completed at least three years of undergraduate studies in animal behaviour/ethology or a closely related field. Experience with field/lab research is highly desirable.

·       Experience with testing and handling of animals, preferably birds.

·       Fluency in both English and French languages.

·       Excellent organizational skills and ability to work both independently and in a team.

·       Attention to detail and ability to closely follow and implement experimental protocols.

·       Data entry proficiency and, ideally, experience in video analysis

 

Reneco is a non-profit organization committed to the conservation breeding and protection in the wild of threatened bird species, most notably the houbara bustard, and is active throughout North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

To apply, send your CV together with a cover letter detailing your relevant experience and motivation, including contact information for two referees, all in a single PDF document to Dr Enrico Sorato: esorato@reneco.org. Review of applications will start immediately and will continue until a suitable candidate has been found.

Hiring Now: Gibbon Research Coordinator

 Scope of Work in link below, including details of how apply.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qo2fRd4hctDljCQPF_KxbpfDAl-KgjYq/view?usp=sharing

Scope of Work: Research Coordinator 

Jahoo is seeking a Research Coordinator to support gibbon habituation, research, and conservation objectives in Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary (KSWS), Mondulkiri, Cambodia.  

Background:  

Jahoo is a community-owned ecotourism enterprise providing sustainable wildlife-friendly livelihoods, motivating community-led conservation action and supporting sustainable social development with the unique southern yellow-cheeked crested gibbon as its flagship species. Jahoo is an integral component to a suite of solutions being implemented in Bunong communities within the protected area towards wildlife conservation and social development goals. The project is supported by World Hope International (WHI) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). 

Jahoo is located within the core protection zone of Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary (KSWS), the last stronghold for this gibbon species protecting a critical population of approximately 1,200 gibbons, the largest remaining population of this species. 2 families of gibbons, living within a community protected forest, are being habituated to human presence for wildlife-based tourism and conservation research with WCS and university partners such as Cornell University, providing a unique insight into gibbon life and behavior as well as a unique wildlife experience for visitors.  

More information on Jahoo can be found here: www.gibbon.life 

Stage en production et santé animale

Contexte de la mission 

Le stage se déroulera dans le cadre d’une thèse étudiant les effets biologiques des huiles essentielles sur les mammites des vaches laitières. L’inflammation des mamelles impacte la production laitière, le bien-être des vaches et entraine des problématiques sanitaires liés à l’utilisation massive d’antibiotiques (pollution environnementale, résistance à l’antibiotique). Dans le souci de lutter contre les mammites et diminuer l’usage d’antibiotiques, ce projet souhaite tester de nouveaux traitements à base de molécules bioactives et naturelles (huiles essentielles) afin de répondre à la demande des éleveurs et des consommateurs. Cependant, l’efficacité et le mécanisme d’action des huiles essentielles contre les mammites sont largement inconnues et méritent d’être validés scientifiquement. Ce stage contribuera à l’expérimentation d’un nouveau protocole de « traitement » des mammites subcliniques par olfaction d’huiles essentielles. 

MISSION PROPOSEE 

Mission principale: Évaluer les effets des huiles essentielles sur l’évolution des mammites subcliniques et sur les comportements des vaches laitières 

Tâches principales : - Réaliser une étude bibliographique sur l’effet de l’olfaction des huiles essentielles - Co-réaliser l’expérimentation du protocole « Olfaction » ; - Analyser les réponses comportementales des vaches face aux huiles essentielles ; - Accompagner les techniciens de la ferme lors des prélèvements (lait et sang) ; - Étudier l’évolution de l’inflammation dans le sang et le lait et de l’infection bactérienne dans le lait après le protocole expérimental ; - Rédaction des rapports d'analyse et d’avancement. 

FORMATION ET COMPÉTENCES Formation : - Étudiant.e en master ou école d'ingénieur en agriculture/agronomie/production animale Compétences : - Bonne capacité d'analyse et de synthèse - Qualité rédactionnelle en français OU en anglais - Bonne maitrise des logiciels informatiques : Word, Excel et R studio - Rigueur - Travail d’équipe - Langues : français et anglais courant (lu, parlé, écrit) 

LIEUX DE STAGE - Institut de l'élevage, Lieu-dit « Mon Voisin », 35652 Le Rheu - Ferme expérimentale Méjusseaume INRAe, Domaine de, La Charpentrais, 35650 Le Rheu 

CONDITIONS - Possibilité d’horaires décalés (tôt pour la traite du matin entre 7h et 8h) - Permis B souhaité - Début du stage : Environ mi-mars - Durée du stage : 5 à 6 mois 

CONTACTS - Ralph NEHME : Ralph.Nehme@idele.fr - Latifa NAJAR : Latifa.Najar@idele.fr - Elise VANBERGUE : Elise.Vanbergue@idele.fr 

GRATIFICATION / REMUNERATION - Gratification : 591,51€ / mois (brut) - Forfait repas journalier : 4,95€ / repas (brut) - Frais de transport domicile / travail selon règlementation en vigueur - Frais de déplacements remboursés selon les barèmes de l’Institut de l'Elevage

Annonce ouverture mention Neurosciences

 Nous avons le plaisir de vous annoncer qu’une nouvelle mention Neurosciences à l'Université Toulouse Sabatier débutera son exercice à la rentrée 2022-23. Cette formation propose 3 parcours: "Ethologie et Cognition Comparées », « Neurosciences cognitives intégrées » et « Neuropsychologie et Neurosciences Cliniques » .

PhD position available: Understanding the impact of heat stress on cognition in a changing world

 Position: fully funded PhD in behavioural ecology 

University: University of Western Australia 

Study site: southern Kalahari desert, South Africa 

Supervisors: 

Assoc Prof Amanda Ridley UWA (www.babbler-research.com) 

Dr Ben Ashton, Macquarie University (https://whitinglab.com/people/lab-manager-and-postdoc/) 

Prof Alex Thornton, University of Exeter (https://biosciences.exeter.ac.uk/staff/profile/index.php?web_id=Alex_Thornton) 

 

We are looking for a suitably qualified candidate to take up a PhD position at the University of Western Australia. The candidate will specifically be investigating the impact of heat stress on cognition in a wild bird, the southern pied babbler (Turdoides bicolor),in the Kalahari desert. The study population has been part of an established long-term research project for the last 18 years, with significant background information gained on the behavioural ecology of this species. The candidate will investigate the impact of environmental versus social conditions during the developmental stage on the ontogeny of cognition. In addition, the candidate will conduct experiments to determine how cognition impacts behavioural responses, such as responses to predator threat, in later life. The candidate will need to conduct experiments in the wild, in a remote location, and is expected to spend 3-6 months in the field each year. The candidate will preferably have had some fieldwork experience, and be willing to work in a remote location for an extended period. The study site is part of a research station where several other research projects on meerkats, hornbills, mole-rats and drongos are run, and so the candidate will be part of a larger field research community. Bird banding experience is preferred, but not necessary. 

Requirements: 

• A first or upper second class Hons or Masters degree in biology, preferably behavioural ecology but this is not essential, with a thesis component completed. 
• Some fieldwork experience, specifically experience working with animals 
• A full driver’s license, with some 4 x 4 driving experience preferred.
  
• 
  

How to apply 

To be accepted into the Doctor of Philosophy at UWA, the applicant must have a First Class Honours or high Second Class Honours or Masters degree, demonstrate they have sufficient background experience in independent supervised research, and provide evidence of English proficiency (https://uwa.edu.au/study/how-to-apply/english-language-requirements/postgrad-research-english-language-requirements). Deadline for applications: 14^th March  2022 

Interested applicants can contact Mandy on the following email: Amanda.ridley@uwa.edu.au. 

3 years, fully funded PhD studentships for international students

 Post-weaning dispersal behaviour, growth and survival of male fallow deer fawns

Supervisor: Domhnall Jennings (Queen's University Belfast, UK)

Why do some young individuals stay with their maternal group while others quickly establish themselves as independent? What are the causes and fitness consequences of this key difference in life-history strategy? This project will investigate these questions using free-ranging male fallow deer fawns as the model.

Full project description: 

Post-weaning dispersal behaviour, growth and survival of male fallow deer fawns at Queen’s University Belfast on FindAPhD.com 

MSc/PhD position

Interested in animal phonemic & precision livestock farming? Apply today for a MSc/PhD position at Virginia Tech University, USA.https://www.applied-ethology.org/MSc_PhD_position_USA.html

Postdoctoral Research Fellow - Edinburgh - rat ethology

 Posted on behalf of Oliver Hardt

I'm passing this message on at the request of a colleague at McGill:

Open postdoctoral position at the University of Edinburgh in rat ethology: "We are looking for an enthusiastic and highly motivated postdoctoral researcher to join the team and contribute to the development of a programme of high-quality research using behavioural assessment coupled with tracking of complex behaviours and vocalisations in rat models of autism spectrum disorder/intellectual disability (ASD/ID)."

Details:

https://elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1001/job/2553/?utm_medium=jobshare

Deadline: 

3/3/2022

All best wishes,

Simon 

Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 avenue Docteur Penfield, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3A 1B1.

https://www.mcgill.ca/reader-lab/

Twitter: @simonmreader

Offre de stage en Bioacoustique à l'INRAE de Tours

 --- OFFRE DE STAGE ---

 

Expérience sur le développement de la communication acoustique chez les chevaux à l'INRAE de Tours

 

Le groupe d’ Écologie Comportementale de l’Université de Copenhague (https://www.behavioural-ecology-group.com/) recherche un(e) volontaire pour une expérience à mener en France dans le cadre d'un stage non rémunéré sur le développement des vocalisations des chevaux pour une durée de 2 mois (février - mars 2022). L'objectif de cette étude est d'enregistrer des vocalisations de poneys dans différents contextes et d'analyser leurs caractéristiques acoustiques en fonction des structures anatomiques de leur appareil vocal scanné en Imagerie par Résonance Magnétique (IRM). Au cours de cette expérience, le/la candidat(e) bénéficiera de nombreuses compétences transférables suite à une initiation complète à la méthodologie scientifique incluant:

 

1) Une recherche bibliographique

2) La collecte de données acoustiques

3) L'analyse de données avec des langages de programmation spécialisés (Praat) et versatiles (R)

4) La rédaction d'un court rapport présentant l’étude et ses résultats

 

️ Lieu de stage:

Le candidat sera supervisé à distance mais effectuera son stage au sein de l'équipe de Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements du centre de l'INRAE Val de Loire situé à Nouzilly (37380) et dirigé par Matthieu Keller.

 

️ Durée:

2 mois (de février à mars 2022)

 

️ Profil du candidat:

- Niveau 2 ème ou 3 ème année de licence, avec un Master en cours ou déjà obtenu

- Français comme langue maternelle

- Permis B

 

️ Contact:

Pour toute question et pour candidater, n'hésitez pas à me contacter à l'adresse suivante: romain.lefevre@bio.ku.dk. Un simple CV suffit.

 

🔁 Dans la mesure du possible, je vous serai très reconnaissant de partager cette annonce depuis le groupe, ou directement depuis mon profil Facebook en suivant ce lien: https://www.facebook.com/profile.lefevreromain/posts/642532543742501

 

Assessing welfare consequences of feed restrictions in dairy cattle: short term, long-term and sustainability perspectives

 Supervisors: Prof Mike Mendl (primary supervisor), Dr Ben Lecorps, None Contact: Email Prof Mike Mendl Background Although freedom from hunger is a key pillar of animal welfare, feed restrictions are common on most farms. For instance, on dairy farms, pre-weaned calves are typically fed less than 50% of ad libitum consumption (4-6L of milk when they would drink up to 16L[1]). Calves also experience hunger when forced to transition from milk to solid feed much earlier and faster than would occur naturally[2]. Growing heifers and dry cows (animals in late gestation) are often kept on restrictive diets too[3]. Dairy cows thus typically experience various levels of hunger at many points in their life. Although we have a relatively good understanding of the impacts on development (e.g. restrictive diets slow growth and increase signs of hunger in calves[4]) and ability to express important natural behaviours such as play[5], little is known about other effects of these experiences on affective states, cognitive abilities, and resilience to stressors. Whilst the feeling of hunger remains largely unexplored in non-human animals[6], feed restrictions are expected to be associated with intense negative affective states[7]. Early experience of chronic hunger is also predicted to have both immediate and long-term effects on cognitive abilities[8], feeding[9] and social behaviours[10], as well as reducing overall productivity. Aims and objectives 1) Assess short-term effects of feed restriction on dairy calves. H1: Feed restrictions lead to negative affective states and impaired cognition (e.g. memory deficits; impulsivity). 2) Explore long-term and cumulative effects of feed restriction on feeding and social behaviour H1: Feed restrictions result in enhanced competition for feed access, increased aggressiveness, and decreased willingness to share resources. 3) Explore the implications in terms of animal welfare, production, and sustainability goals H1: Feed restrictions generate lower resilience to stressors and higher vulnerability to disease, hence negatively affecting dairy farm sustainability. Methodology PhD projects 2022-02-07, 2'50 PM https://uob-fhs.phdprojects.uk/78 Page 2 of 2 Standard feeding will be compared to ad-libitum feeding during pre-weaning and post-weaning phases of calf development at UoB’s John Oldacre Centre Wyndhurst Farm (Langford). Effects of feed restriction on calf affective states and learning ability will be investigated using established tests [11,12] coupled with new biomarkers of cumulative stress and aging [13]. Resilience will be explored by measuring how animals respond to routine stressors (e.g. hoof trimming; increased competition for food access). The project will also provide longitudinal data describing effects of feeding level on health, disease vulnerability and measures of productivity. This will allow lifecycle analysis to be performed hence providing key missing information to fully assess effects of feed restriction on dairy cattle welfare, health and sustainability. The student will acquire skills in experimental design, develop and conduct state-of-the-art behavioural tests in large animals, collect, analyse and interpret physiological data, and carry out statistical analysis. They will also have the opportunity to learn techniques in life-cycle analyses that are commonly used in sustainability research, in collaboration with experts at BVS. These skills will be transferrable to other species and research questions in the wider fields of animal science and sustainable agriculture. References 1. Miller-Cushon et al. J.Dairy.Sci. 96, (2013) 2. Costa et al. J.Anim.Sci. 12, (2019) 3. Greter et al. J.Dairy.Sci. 98, (2015) 4. Rosenberger et al. J.Dairy.Sci. 100, (2017) 5. Krachun et al. Appl.Anim.Behav.Sci. 122, (2010) 6. Arbilly et al. Proc.R.Soc.B.Biol.Sci. 284 (2017) 7. Benton Neurosci.Biobehav.Rev. 26, (2002) 8. Laus et al. Int. J.Environ.Res.Public.Health 8, (2011) 9. Nettle et al. Behav.Brain.Sci. 40, (2017) 10. Benton Int.J.Neurosci. 41, (1988) 11. Ede et al. Sci.Rep. 9, (2019) 12. Lecorps et al. PLoS One (2020) 13. Bateson et al. Anim.Welf. 28, 41–56 (2019) Apply for this project This project will be based in Bristol Veterinary School. Please apply using the Online Application System. You should search for the "Veterinary Science (4yr) (PhD)" programme with a start date of September 2022, then click the "Apply" button. IMPORTANT: In the Funding section under "Main source of funding" please select "University of Bristol Scholarship" We strongly recommend that you list at least two alternative projects in your covering letter, as we may not be able to offer you your first choice. Please only submit one application (to your first choice school/department), but note that your other choices can be based in another school/department

PhD studentship: Personality traits and cognitive abilities in captive-bred North African houbara bustards

 

Academic Supervisors:

Dr Joah Madden, University of Exeter

Dr Enrico Sorato, Reneco International Wildlife Consultants, Abu Dhabi (esorato@reneco-hq.org)

 

Location:

 

Psychology, Streatham Campus, Exeter

 

The University of Exeter’s College of Life and Environmental Sciences, in partnership with Reneco International Wildlife Consultants, is inviting applications for a PhD studentship to commence in March 2022 or as soon as possible thereafter.  The studentship is to investigate personality traits and cognitive abilities in a captive-bred population of North African houbara bustards (Chlamydotis undulata undulata). 

 

Project Description:

The endangered North African houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata undulata) has been declining drastically throughout its range due to overhunting and habitat degradation. Since the late 90s the species has been the subject of a large-scale captive breeding programme at the Emirates Center for Wildlife Propagation, Missour, with more than 15 000 birds produced annually for release in the wild. The intention of this rearing and release is to restore wild populations and supplement hunting grounds for regulated falconry (http://www.houbarafund.org). Houbaras are bred using an artificial insemination process following a strict genetic management (pedigree-based), designed to increase genetic diversity and avoid inbreeding depression (Rabier et al. 2020, 2021). However, past research (Charge et al. 2013, 2014) and ongoing analyses (E Sorato) have provided evidence for among-individual differences in sexual behaviour and life history traits partly associated with origin (captive-bred vs wild-origin individuals), which may arise through genetic adaptation to captivity and parental effects.. Still, the relative extent to which genetic changes and environmental effects may affect personality, cognitive traits, and ultimately fitness in the wild, remains to be explored.

 

The successful applicant will investigate the effects of captive-breeding on personality traits, by conducting behavioural tests on captive houbaras throughout ontogeny. Interplays between personality and individual cognitive abilities (discriminative and reversal learning) will also be explored. By testing individuals with varying known histories of captive breeding, and by using quantitative genetics statistical methods, we will assess the extent of adaptation to captivity and disentangle the relative impact of additive genetic, parental and environmental effects on the main personality axes, and on interplays between personality and cognitive traits. This study will contribute to unravel the selection forces shaping variation in personality and cognitive traits and will ultimately aid improve conservation breeding of endangered species / houbara bustards.

 

References

Chargé, R., Teplitsky, C., Hingrat, Y., Saint Jalme, M., Lacroix, F., & Sorci, G. (2013). Quantitative genetics of sexual display, ejaculate quality and size in a lekking species. Journal of Animal Ecology, 82(2), 399–407.

Chargé, R., Sorci, G., Saint Jalme, M., Lesobre, L., Hingrat, Y., Lacroix, F., & Teplitsky, C. (2014). Does recognized genetic management in supportive breeding prevent genetic changes in life-history traits? Evolutionary Applications, 7(5), 521–532.

Rabier, R., Robert, A., Lacroix, F. & Lesobre, L.  (2020). Genetic assessment of a conservation breeding program of the houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata undulata) in Morocco, based on pedigree and molecular analyses. Zoo Biol. 39, 365–447.

Rabier, R., Lesobre, L. & Robert, A. (2021). Reproductive performance in houbara bustard is affected by the combined effects of age, inbreeding and number of generations in captivity. Sci Rep 11, 7813 (2021

Working environment:

The project is part of a collaboration between Dr Enrico Sorato (Reneco International Wildlife Consultants; ECWP) and Dr Joah Madden (Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter) investigating the behavioural, life history and fitness consequences of captive breeding in the houbara bustard.

The student will be based in UK at Exeter, supervised by Dr Joah Madden. Fieldwork will take place at the Emirates Center for Wildlife Propagation in Missour, Eastern Morocco, starting in Spring 2022, under the supervision of E Sorato. Besides Morocco, the student will also be expected to spend time at the Reneco HQ in Abu Dhabi, UAE, to conduct data analysis. This award provides annual funding to cover Home or International tuition fees for three years. Research costs, associated travel, and any on-site accommodation, plus an annual stipend to a total value of ~22,000 Euros/year will be provided directly by Reneco, who will inform in writing the successful candidate once appointed.

International applicants need to be aware that you will have to cover the cost of your student visa, healthcare surcharge and other costs of moving to the UK to do a PhD. 

 

Entry requirements and application procedure:

Please see  https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/funding/award/?id=4410

(note that the application deadline may be extended if suitable candidates have not been found)