PROJECT TITLE: Sex role evolution: phylogenetic analyses of mating and parenting in vertebrates
Main Supervisor: Professor Tamás Székely, University of Bath, UK
Co-Supervisor: Dr Daniel J Field, University of Bath, UK
Co-Supervisor: Prof Innes Cuthill, University of Bristol. UK
Project Background
A
general trend in social behaviour is that females tend to be the caring
sex, whereas males focus more on mating; however there are illuminating
exceptions. This division of sex roles has far-reaching effects on
ecology, physiology and life histories of males
and females. The causes, however, of sex role differentiation have
remained controversial. This PhD project is focused on understanding the
causes of sex role evolution in vertebrates using phylogenetic
approaches.
Project Aims and Methods
This PhD project will focus on vertebrates (i.e.
fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) that exhibit
particularly well-studied sex role behaviour. The PhD project has three
objectives:
1. to investigate the association between key
components of sex roles: courtship, competition for mates, pair bonding
and parental care;
2. to examine the influence of variation in ecology, life-history and social environment on sex roles;
3. to investigate the multi-way feedbacks between
sex roles, environment, life histories and the social environment using
phylogenetic tools.
These objectives will be addressed using (i)
detailed information on courtship, pair bonding and parental behavior
collected by Prof Szekely’s team from multiple bird populations, and
(ii) across vertebrates based on published data in the
literature.
This will be a challenging and stimulating project
that can potentially produce cutting edge results. The student will not
only benefit from the excellent facilities at Bath and Bristol, but also
from interacting with top international
scientists involved in the project. Fieldwork in exotic locations can
be negotiated.
Candidate
The ideal candidate has a strong interest in
evolution, phylogenetic methods and behaviour, and direct experience
working with any vertebrate taxon. Excellent quantitative skills are
required to perform phylogenetic comparative analyses
and run mathematical simulations. Innovative thinking will be necessary
to draw links between disparate sources of data.
Training
The training will focus on three major skills:
1. Phylogenetic analyses: this includes inferring
phylogenies and using trees in a comparative framework for testing
macroevolutionary hypotheses. Training in computational and advanced
statistical methods will be a focus of this PhD;
2. Fieldwork including experimental design,
behavioural observations, estimating ecological and life-history
variables in the field;
3. Transferable skills including research planning, statistical analyses, paper writing, presentation and communication skills.
References / Background reading list
1. Remeš, V., R. P. Freckleton, J. Tökölyi, A.
Liker & T. Székely. 2015. The evolution of parental cooperation in
birds. Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, US 112: 13603-13608.
2. Prum, R. O., Berv, J. S., Dornburg, A., Field,
D. J., Townsend, J. P., Lemmon, E. M. and Lemmon, A. R., 2015. A
comprehensive phylogeny of birds (Aves) using targeted next-generation
DNA sequencing. Nature 526: 569-573.
3. Cuthill, I. C. et al. 2017. The biology of color. Science 357: 470-475.
4. Liker, A., R. P. Freckleton & T. Székely.
2013. The evolution of sex roles in birds is related to adult sex ratio.
Nature Communications 4: 1587.