Fully funded PhD opportunities in the School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol
Two Faculty scholarship projects:
1. Intergroup communication & conflict in mountain gorillas.
Supervisors: Robin Morrison & Andy Radford (Bristol)
Supervisors: Robin Morrison & Andy Radford (Bristol)
The project will combine long-term datasets, fieldwork and acoustic
analyses to investigate the information communicated in gorilla’s chest
beats, and the responses they elicit in their neighbours, to develop a
novel understanding of large-scale communication
networks in a landscape of intergroup conflict.
Full details: https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/funded-phd-intergroup-communication-and-conflict-in-mountain-gorillas-hlsuob26/?p200866=
2. Ecology and conservation of migratory birds under global change.
Supervisors: Fengyi Guo, Andy Radford & Tommaso Jucker (Bristol)
The project will integrate multiple large datasets, including weather surveillance radar, eBird citizen science and potentially local fieldwork, to investigate how global stressors affect migratory bird population trends, migration timing (phenology) and flight behaviours.
Full details: https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/funded-phd-ecology-and-conservation-of-migratory-birds-under-global-change-hlsuob26/?p200845
Deadline: 13th December 2026
Full details: https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/funded-phd-intergroup-communication-and-conflict-in-mountain-gorillas-hlsuob26/?p200866=
2. Ecology and conservation of migratory birds under global change.
Supervisors: Fengyi Guo, Andy Radford & Tommaso Jucker (Bristol)
The project will integrate multiple large datasets, including weather surveillance radar, eBird citizen science and potentially local fieldwork, to investigate how global stressors affect migratory bird population trends, migration timing (phenology) and flight behaviours.
Full details: https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/funded-phd-ecology-and-conservation-of-migratory-birds-under-global-change-hlsuob26/?p200845
Deadline: 13th December 2026
Three NERC GW4+ DTP projects:
1. Enhancing coral reef restoration.
1. Enhancing coral reef restoration.
Supervisors: Andy Radford, Steve Simpson (both Bristol), Sophie Nedelec (Exeter) & Johanna Leonhardt (CASE partner)
This project will investigate experimentally how best to apply
cutting-edge coral spawning, micro-fragmentation and gardening alongside
farming damselfish (species who protect their coral territories) to aid
coral reef restoration. Work will be done at the
well-established restoration project of Soneva Conservation and
Sustainability Maldives, who will act as a CASE partner.
2. The costs and benefits of intergroup relationships in gorillas.
Supervisors: Robin Morrison, Andy Radford (both Bristol) & Lauren Brent (Exeter)
The project will implement new technological approaches for recording, tracking and extracting wild gorilla behaviour to investigate how repeated interactions develop into long-term intergroup relationships and how these affect fitness. Work will be done in collaboration with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund in Rwanda.
3. The effectiveness of conservation interventions in supporting migrating birds during stopover.
Supervisors: Fengyi Guo, Andy Radford, Tommaso Jucker (all Bristol) & Timothy Darlington (Met Office)
The project will integrate data from weather-surveillance radar, LiDAR-derived habitat structure and potentially targeted fieldwork to assess long-term impacts of conservation interventions on migrating bird communities across the UK. Work will be done in collaboration with the Met Office and the RSPB.
Full details of all three projects and how to apply are available here:
Supervisors: Robin Morrison, Andy Radford (both Bristol) & Lauren Brent (Exeter)
The project will implement new technological approaches for recording, tracking and extracting wild gorilla behaviour to investigate how repeated interactions develop into long-term intergroup relationships and how these affect fitness. Work will be done in collaboration with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund in Rwanda.
3. The effectiveness of conservation interventions in supporting migrating birds during stopover.
Supervisors: Fengyi Guo, Andy Radford, Tommaso Jucker (all Bristol) & Timothy Darlington (Met Office)
The project will integrate data from weather-surveillance radar, LiDAR-derived habitat structure and potentially targeted fieldwork to assess long-term impacts of conservation interventions on migrating bird communities across the UK. Work will be done in collaboration with the Met Office and the RSPB.
Full details of all three projects and how to apply are available here:
Deadline: 7th January 2027