Love social evolution? Keen on fieldwork? Ready to brave the odd sting in the name of science?
We are delighted that PhD opportunity 2 (see below) is part of the University of Bristol's new PhD Scholarship for UK home-fee students of Black or mixed Black heritage. For more information on this scholarship, please feel free to get in touch via email.
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PhD OPPORTUNITY 1 (open to applicants worldwide): “Social wasps across Africa: exploring how societies evolve at a continental scale”
A major goal amongst evolutionary biologists is to uncover the links between climate and cooperation. In this PhD, you will use the extraordinarily wide distribution of Africa’s Belonogaster wasps – which span the continent south of the Sahara – to investigate key links between climate and sociality.
To find out more about this project, see the project description at www.tinyurl.com/AfricanWasps and contact the lead supervisor at patrick.kennedy@bristol.ac.uk. This project is advertised as part of a competition-funded ‘Doctoral Training Partnership’ (DTP) in the UK, and will involve fieldwork, theory, and working with specimens at the Natural History Museum, London.
Deadline for DTP application: 9th January 2024 (contact the supervisor well before this deadline to discuss the project and your suitability)
Lead supervisor: Patrick Kennedy (Bristol)
Co-supervisors: Gavin Broad (Natural History Museum), Andy Higginson (Exeter), Andy Radford (Bristol), Stephen Montgomery (Bristol)
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PhD OPPORTUNITY 2 (Bristol Scholarship for UK students of Black or mixed Black heritage): “Power games in the wild: the social evolution of dominance”
Animal social groups are often profoundly unequal. In this PhD, you will explore how social power evolves and is maintained, and develop evolutionary theory to explain why different species and populations evolve to have radically different types of power structure. You will have a rare opportunity to combine evolutionary theory and fieldwork: you will develop theoretical models using both evolutionary game theory and computational simulations, and test predictions by devising creative behavioural experiments with social wasps at our field sites in Africa.
To find out more about this project, see the project description at www.tinyurl.com/WaspPower and contact the lead supervisor at patrick.kennedy@bristol.ac.uk. This project is advertised as part of the new competition-funded Bristol Scholarship for UK home-fee students of Black or mixed Black heritage.
Deadline for full application: 8th January 2024 (contact the supervisor well before this deadline to discuss the project and your suitability)
Lead supervisor: Patrick Kennedy (Bristol)
Co-supervisor: Stephanie King (Bristol)
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Entry requirements: The successful applicants will have a demonstrable passion for evolution and ecology. You must have a first or upper second-class degree (or international equivalent) in a discipline related to the PhD project. Applicants with additional relevant experience and/or a master's degree are strongly encouraged to apply.
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Patrick Kennedy, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol