Searching for a PhD student

 

L’Office fédéral Suisse de la sécurité alimentaire et des affaires vétérinaires (BLV) recherche une personne pour conduire une enquête en fermes commerciales et expérimentales sur l’impact sur le bien-être des vaches des anneaux anti-succions (durée : 24 mois).

Doktorand/-in - Bundesamt für Lebensmittelsicherheit und Veterinärwesen BLV

Langage: German or French (both if possible) is required 

Fully funded PhD opportunity

 

Applications are open for a fully funded (UK fees) PhD to work with me (Prof Anna Nekaris) and my colleague Dr Victoria Maguire-Rajpaul at Cambridge's Anglia Ruskin University within the School of Life Sciences and the Global Sustainability Institute.

The project is entitled "Advancing Wildlife-Friendly Coffee and Cocoa Farming for Conserving Endangered Primates in Indonesia and Côte d’Ivoire" and in part will be linked to the Little Fireface Project and examining impact of certification by Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network.

The project description is summarised below:

The deadline for applications is 16th March 2025, with the project beginning in September 2025. In this PhD project the student will investigate how changing to more sustainable and pro-wildlife farming techniques for coffee and cocoa cultivation can alleviate pressures on endangered primates while empowering smallholder farmers. Focusing on Indonesia and Côte d’Ivoire, the researcher will explore integrating biodiversity conservation and socioeconomic improvements into global commodity/coffee and cocoa supply chains.

The student will examine the potential for Wildlife Friendly™ certification to transform agricultural landscapes into tools for conservation. Indonesia and Côte d’Ivoire are biodiversity hotspots, hosting remarkable primate diversity, with 64 and 22 species . 2/3 are threatened with extinction, with three species from each country (Indonesia: Pongo tapanuliensis, Simias concolor, Nycticebus javanicus; Côte d’Ivoire: Cercopithecus diana roloway, C. atys lunulatus, Procolobus badius waldroni) considered to be amongst the 25 most threatened primates on earth. With Indonesia as the world’s 4th largest coffee producer & 3rd largest cocoa producer, and Côte d’Ivoire as the world’s 14th largest coffee producer & foremost cocoa producer, unsustainable farming practices has led to habitat loss and primate declines. The global trade of coffee and cocoa both rely predominantly on smallholder farmers. Indonesia and Côte d'Ivoire offer an opportunity for empowering resource-poor farmers to produce these agro-commodities in more sustainable ways to improve crop quality and profit.

The Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network (WFEN) certification scheme, which is one of few global certifications to require protection of endangered species, has shown promise in promoting biodiversity and socio-economic benefits. The broader feasibility of such certification remains understudied. This doctoral project evaluates WFEN certification’s potential to restore forest connectivity, improve primate habitats and populations, and enhance smallholder livelihoods.

If you would like to discuss this PhD opportunity, please send me an email to anna.nekaris@aru.ac.uk

Fellowship in Behavioural Ecology of Birds

 

HU-RIZONT FELLOWSHIP IN BREEDING ECOLOGY & MIGRATION OF SHOREBIRDS

 

POSITION OVERVIEW. We are seeking a motivated and talented field biologist to join our team. The HU-RIZONT Fellow will play a crucial role in implementing field investigations of breeding and non-breeding shorebirds. We seek applicants with strong background in evolutionary biology, animal behaviour or ecology, and willingness to learn microbial ecology. The position is part of a collaborative project “The role of migratory birds in spreading antimicrobial resistance” funded by the Hungarian Research agency (HUN-REN) for 3 years.

 

ABOUT US: The position is based at University of Debrecen (Hungary) where our team has approximately dozen PhD students, postdocs and collaborating academics. The Fellow will be mentored by an international team of scientists from Oxford, Sheffield and Trondheim. We aim high profile publications (see below). Beyond significance in ecology, animal behaviour and evolution, our research has direct implications for biodiversity conservation by preserving species and by working with local communities to protect shorebird habitats. We work globally using an international network of scientists and conservationists, see  www.szekelylab.com

 

FURTHER DETAILS.  The main task of Fellow is to carry out field investigations of both breeding and non-breeding shorebirds, use efficient microbiological sampling protocols in the field, carry out data analyses and publish papers. In addition, s/he will need to coordinate field investigations in several field sites in Europe and Africa, assist research of MSc and PhD students and possibly contribute at modest level to postgraduate teaching (all in English).

We seek applicants with strong research background in one (or more) of the following fields: behavioural ecology, population ecology, field biology, wildlife conservation, disease ecology and microbiology. Applicants should have a Ph.D. in animal ecology, behavioural ecology, population demography or a related field, and a strong background in quantitative analyses. Good communication and interpersonal skills are essential. Knowledge of programming languages such as R is required, and experience with biostatistics or demography is desirable. Proficiency in English is essential as is strong research track record matching the career stage of the applicant. Extensive field experience, bird ringing and trapping, and full driving licence are essential.

 

DURATION: The position is available for 3 years starting immediately. The initial contract will be for one year with the possibility of extension for further two years, depending on the candidate's performance.

 

SALARY: The gross salary is up to 1,000,000 HuF per month (approx 2,500 EURO). Living in Hungary is substantially cheaper than in Western Europe, and the salary we offer is equivalent of professorial salary in Hungary. Social and health insurance contributions are independent of salary and paid by the employer.

 

ENVIRONMENT: The position is based in Debrecen: a vibrant and liveable city in eastern Hungary with large international student community. Debrecen has good public services, and rental housing and food are affordable. The Fellowship is based at the Department of Evolutionary Zoology.  Our research team works closely with Hortobagy National Park – a UNESCO Heritage Site just outside Debrecen.

 

HOW TO APPLY: Please send i) a cover letter explaining your research interests and suitability for the position, ii) your CV with a list of scientific publications, and iii) contact information of two referees to Ms Rita Nagy  nagy.rita@science.unideb.hu

 

Please use the subject line "HU-RIZONT Fellowship application." Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview. Application deadline: 28 February 2025.

 

Selected recent publications by our team: Prof T Szekely (Debrecen/Bath), Prof Sam Sheppard (Oxford), Prof Robert Freckleton (Sheffield), Prof Brett Sandercock (Trondheim). For our complete track record, please see GoogleScholar and ResearchGate.

 

Alfaro, M.,, B.K. Sandercock …. 2020.  Habitat selection and space use of Upland Sandpipers at the nonbreeding grounds.  Avian Conservation and Ecology 14:18.

Amano, T., T. Szekely, ….2018. Successful conservation of global waterbird populations depends on effective governance. Nature 553: 199-202.

Bulla, M. et al. 2017. Flexible parental care: Uniparental incubation in biparentally incubating shorebirds. Scientific Reports 7:12851.

Kubelka, V…R. Freckleton, T. Szekely. 2018. Global pattern of nest predation is disrupted by climate change in shorebirds. Science 362: 680-683.

Kubelka, V, B. K. Sandercock, T. Szekely, R. P. Freckleton 2021. Animal migration to northern latitudes: environmental changes and increasing threats. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 37: 30-41.

McDonald, G. C., …T. Szekely….2023. Remating opportunities and low costs underlie maternal desertion. Evolution 77: 97-109.

Mills, S. C., …R. P. Freckleton … 2023. High sensitivity of tropical forest birds to deforestation at lower altitudes. Ecology, 104: e3867.

Mourkas, E., ….T. Székely …. & S. K. Sheppard. 2024. Proximity to humans is associated with anti-microbial resistant enteric pathogens in wild bird microbiomes. Current Biology 34: 3955-3965.

Sandercock, B.K.  2020.  Mark-recapture models for estimation of demographic parameters.  In: Murray, D.L., and B.K. Sandercock (editors), Population Ecology in Practice (pp. 157-190). Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken NJ, USA.

Sandercock, B.K.  2020.  Population fitness has a concave relationship with migration distance in Sanderlings.  Journal of Animal Ecology 89:674-677.

Szekely, T. 2019. Why study plovers? The significance of non-model organisms in avian ecology, behaviour and evolution. Journal of Ornithology 160: 923-933.

Szekely, T….. 2023. The causes and implications of sex role diversity in shorebird breeding systems. Ibis 166: 357–385.

Varah, A…. R. P. Freckleton 2020. The costs of human-induced evolution in an agricultural system. Nature Sustainability, 3, 63-71.

 

T.Szekely@bath.ac.uk

Phd Proposal

 

Title	Taking a OneHealth approach to zoonotic disease-examining the transmission of toxoplasmosis to wildlife, livestock and humans.
Supervisor	Dr Peter Speldewinde
Course	Doctor of Philosophy
Keywords	OneHealth, toxoplasmosis, animal health, human health
Categories	Animal health, Human Health, OneHealth, Environment
Research area	Biological Sciences
Project description	Despite cats being known to spread diseases, zoonotic disease transmission from cats is poorly understood and additional impacts of feral cat disease transmission to wildlife have not been well studied.  This project will examine the transmission of toxoplasmosis (Toxoplasma gondii) in the great southern region of Western Australia.  Particularly examining the potential transmission of the parasite to Australian native fauna, livestock and humans.  The study will take an integrated OneHealth approach to examining the issue.
Opportunity status	Open
Open date	18 Nov 2024
Close date	31 Mar 2025
Funding source	Domestic and International Scholarships: Please consult the UWA Scholarships web page for more information
School	Graduate Research School
Contact	Dr Peter Speldewinde peter.speldewinde@uwa.edu.au
Specific project requirement	-Project will require both laboratory and field work, applicant should be comfortable working in both environments -Project will require liaison with community groups and government agencies -Experience working with wildlife and/or livestock is an advantage -Experience in animal capture and handling is preferred -Experience in obtaining and handing blood samples is preferred
Additional information	Potential candidates should undertake the following: (1) International & Australian candidates confirm fulfilment of all admission requirements at UWA PhD Program. (2) Send a CV & cover letter, briefly outline research interests (3) Prepare to apply for, and secure a domestic or international scholarship. UWA Scholarships web page for more information.
Course type	Doctorates
Description	The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is a program of independent, supervised research that is assessed solely on the basis of a thesis, sometimes including a creative work component, that is examined externally. The work presented for a PhD must be a substantial and original contribution to scholarship, demonstrating mastery of the subject of interest as well as an advance in that field of knowledge.  Visit the course webpage for full details of this course including admission requirements, course rules and the relevant CRICOS code/s.
Duration	4 years		https://researchdegrees.uwa.edu.au/projects/14qv10/taking-a-onehealth-approach-to-zoonotic-disease-examining-the-transmission-of-toxoplasmosis-to-wildlife-livestock-and-humans

Fully Funded Master's Opportunity

 If you are interested in Primate Conservation and GIS and are considering pursuing a Master's degree, please contact me (presottoa24@ecu.edu). We have fully funded positions available at East Carolina University, Department of Geography, Planning and Environment.  

PhD Proposal

Laboratoire d’Éthologie Expérimentale et Comparée (LEEC)
Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, France
Advertisement of a fully funded PhD position
Paternities and spatial kinship structure in a population of South African bush Karoo rats
 

We are looking for a highly motivated and competent candidate for a fully funded 3-year PhD position. Studies will be carried out at the Laboratoire d’Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée (LEEC), Université Sorbonne Paris Nord (Campus Villetaneuse) in France, and for the field work at the Succulent Karoo Research Station in South Africa.
Application procedure. Applicants should send their CV and motivation letter, in one single PDF file, to rodel@univ-paris13.fr by the 15/03/2025. In the CV, the names of two references including their contact details should be provided. Applications after the 15/03/2025 may also be considered until the position is filled. The thesis will start between April and July 2025.
Direction of PhD thesis. Dr. Heiko G. Rödel, Professor. Co-supervision. Dr. Chantal Poteaux, Associate Professor; both are at the Laboratoire d’Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée (LEEC), Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, France. Website: http://leec.univ-paris13.fr
In collaboration with. Dr. Carsten Schradin, Research Director, and Dr. Lindelani Makuya, post-doctoral researcher; both are at the Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, CNRS Strasbourg, France. Both are board members of the Succulent Karoo Research Station in South Africa. Website: https://www.stripedmouse.com
Context. Male spacing behavior including the spatial patterns of paternities can affect genetic relatedness in different subsets of a population. For example, neighboring matrilines can be closely related when several females have the same father. On the other hand, multiple paternities can decrease relatedness within a matriline. Such effects can shape the spatial kinship dynamics of the entire population (cf. Solmsen et al. 2011; Sommaro et al. 2024), and as such social interactions via kin selection. Field studies exploring such patterns are still scanty, as long-term population studies with individually marked animals are needed. We propose such a study in the solitary bush Karoo rat (Otomys unisulcatus), using individual-based data collected over seven years at the Succulent Karoo Research Station in South Africa. Bush Karoo rats construct and maintain stick lodges using dry plant material. These are used as refugia, protecting the animals from the harsh ambient environment (Vermeulen and Nel 1988). Adults live solitary in their lodges and aggression among conspecifics is usually low, in particular between closely related neighboring females (Makuya et al. 2024). Further investigations on ecology, reproduction, behavior and physiology of this small rodent are ongoing at this field site since 2018 (e.g., Agnani et al. 2000; Schradin 2005; Wolhuter et al. 2022; Qiu et al. 2024).
Research questions. We (i) aim to investigate seasonal and sex differences in spacing behavior including the timing and possible drivers of male dispersal. Important predictors tested in multifactorial models include population density, age, body mass and features of neighboring conspecifics. Parts of this study will be done by the analysis of existing long-term data, and parts based on data collected by the candidate in the field (details below).
Furthermore (ii), using the existing long-term data set, we aim to study how the spatial distribution of paternities within the population, including the potential occurrence of multiple paternities, affects the degree of relatedness funded by among and within matrilines. Therefore, we will explore female natal dispersal via the spatial distribution and istances among stick lodges they inhabit in relation to their matrilines. We predict that information on the spatio-temporal paternity distribution will contribute to explain individual-based and population-level changes in kinship patterns among females over space and time.
For the third thesis chapter (iii), the student can develop either a research question focussing on population
genetics or on behavioural ecology, depending on the student’s preferences. 

Data collection and available long-term data. As part of the PhD project, the candidate will collect data on male bush Karoo rat spacing behavior at the Succulent Karoo Research Station in South Africa. Furthermore, the candidate will work in France at the LEEC/Université Sorbonne Paris Nord to analyze our existing long-term data set from this bush Karoo rat population. The data set includes individual-based information on life histories including body masses and space use, and tissue samples for genetic analysis from a large number of males and females during seven years of study.
Methods. In the field, at the Succulent Karoo Research Station in South Africa (https://www.stripedmouse.com), the candidate will trap wild bush Karoo rats from our study population and will equip a sufficiently high sample size with mini-GPS transmitters (Makuya and Schradin 2023). Methods of trapping and individual marking are well established at the field station. The candidate will work as part of a team of researchers and students and will also participate in the collection of long-term data.
At the LEEC (http://leec.univ-paris13.fr), Unversité Sorbonne Paris Nord, France, the candidate will assess paternities, maternities and matrilinear relationships via microsatellite markers and by adequate computational techniques in our fully-equipped genetics lab. Furthermore, the candidate will organize the existing long-term data set and will apply methods of multilevel statistical modelling in relation to the different research questions.
The candidate will receive proper training and supervision in all methods applied. Dr. Poteaux is an expert of various molecular techniques including parental assessment. Prof. Rödel is an expert in applied statistical modelling of life history and spatial data and in the analysis of long-term data sets.
Candidate. We are seeking a creative, and highly motivated candidate with a Master degree in behavioral sciences (ethology, behavioral ecology) or in a related field, preferably with experience in animal field studies and with some notions or background in molecular techniques. The candidate should be able to work independently as well as part of a team, and to handle wild small mammals. A good knowledge and interest in applied statistics (preferably using R) and in data base management (Excel) will be advantageous. The candidate should have good English communication skills (written and spoken, min. B2); proficiency in French is not a necessary precondition.
References.
Agnani P, Thomson J, Schradin C, Careau V (2000) The fast and the curious II: performance, personality, and metabolism in Karoo bush rats. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 74:123
Makuya L, Pillay N, Sangweni SP, Schradin C (2024) Tolerant mothers: aggression does not explain solitary living in the bush Karoo rat. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 291:20241534
Makuya L, Schradin C (2023) Measuring range sizes in a 100-g rodent: mini-GPS are more reliable than transmitters, but the location error reduces reliability. Mamm Biol 103:455-465
Qiu J, Pillay N, Schradin C, Makuya L, Rödel HG (2024) Higher proactivity in later-borns: effects of birth date on personality in a small mammal. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 78:124
Schradin C (2005) Nest-site competition in two diurnal rodents from the succulent karoo of South Africa. J Mammal 86:757-762
Solmsen N, Johannesen J, Schradin C (2011) Highly asymmetric fine-scale genetic structure between sexes of African striped mice and indication for condition dependent alternative male dispersal tactics. Mol Ecol 20:1624-1634
Sommaro LV, Martínez JJ, Chiappero MB, Steinmann AR, Gardenal CN, Priotto JW (2024) Relatedness dynamics and sex-biased dispersal in a seasonal cycle of corn mice from intensively managed agroecosystems. Curr Zool 70:1-12
Vermeulen HC, Nel JAJ (1988) The bush Karoo rat Otomys unisulcatus on the Cape West coast. S Afr J Zool 23:103-111
Wolhuter L, Thomson J, Schradin C, Pillay N (2022) Life history traits of free-living bush Karoo rats (Otomys unisulcatus) in the semi-arid Succulent Karoo. Mamm Res 67:73–81