Stage

 INVESTIGATING THE DUAL HORMONE HYPOTHESIS IN WORKING ELEPHANTS FROM
MYANMAR
We are looking for a student with an interest in behavioural ecology and endocrinology,
and with previous experiences in statistical analyses using R. The student will investigate the Dual
Hormone Hypothesis (Mehta & Josephs, 2010) on the world’s largest semi-captive population of
working Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) from Myanmar.
The Dual Hormone Hypothesis (DHH) postulates that glucocorticoids (“stress
hormones”) moderate the relationship between androgens (e.g., testosterone) and status-
striving. Using available data on faecal glucocorticoid and androgen metabolite concentrations
and behavioural ratings, the student will explore the DHH using a unique study system, the
working timber elephants from Myanmar.
The Master’s student will work within our multidisciplinary group at the Lummaa Lab,
within the Department of Biology, University of Turku, Finland, to analyse behavioural and
hormone data to answer a highly topical question in behavioural biology and ecophysiology. The
student will be part of an international, dynamic and multidisciplinary team, so that proficiency
in English (reading, writing and speaking) is required.
The 6 months master project, starting early-2027, will be supervised by Martin Seltmann
(martsel@utu.fi) and co-supervised by Lucas Lalande (lulala@utu.fi). Note, that the internship is
unfortunately unpaid but do not hesitate to apply to ERASMUS+ or regional scholarships.
Aims
➢ Investigate behavioural ratings in combination with faecal glucocorticoid and androgen
hormone levels,
➢ Answering the question if the DHH holds in Asian working elephants.
Tasks
• Study literature on animal behaviour & endocrinology,
• Analysis of already collected data from 150 elephants,
• Write-up of results in a master thesis,
• Possibility of publishing the results in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
Application
Please send your application by the 6th of November, including a CV and a cover letter to Martin
Seltmann (martsel@utu.fi) and Lucas Lalande (lulala@utu.fi). Interviews should take place during
the following week. If you have questions, feel free to contact us.
Mehta, P. H., & Josephs, R. A. (2010). Testosterone and cortisol jointly regulate dominance: Evidence for a
dual-hormone hypothesis. Hormones and Behavior, 58(5), 898‑906.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2010.08.020