01-14
Postdoc Position in Animal Ecology (75 %)
A postdoc position is available in the division of Community Ecology
at the University of Bern.
Requirements
The candidate must have received a Ph.D. in biology with emphasis
in ecology within the last years and should be interested in independent
research in ecology. Possible fields of interest are: arthropod-plant-relationships,
arthropod soil ecology, pollination ecology, biological control, invasion
ecology, and other ecological aspects of invertebrates. The successful
candidate is expected to develop into an independent position with
her/his own funding. Experience in teach-ing and specific knowledge
of an arthropod group is advantageous. More information can be found
at http://ecol.iee.unibe.ch or can be obtained from wolfgang.nentwig_###_iee.unibe.ch.
Salary and conditions
Salary is according to the current pay scale of the university. There
is a probation period of 6 months and the duration of the position
is limited to 6 years. Starting date is April 2013 or ac-cording to
special agreement.
Applications
Please submit your application via e-mail to wolfgang.nentwig_###_iee.unibe.ch.
Applicants should send their CV including a list of publications,
names and addresses of two references and a one page outline of their
future research plans. All documents shall be submitted as one PDF
docu-ment. Closing date for applications is 8. February 2013.
http://ecol.iee.unibe.ch
2012
12-18
IIED has a vacancy for a senior researcher position on sustainable
food and agriculture systems, in the Agroecology and Food Sovereignty
Team. The deadline has been extended to 6 January, as we had not
received a sufficiently large number of suitable candidates. The link
is http://www.iied.org/senior-researcher-sustainable-food-agriculture-systems.
12-18
4 PhD positions in Comparative Cognition
Messerli Research Institute
University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
1) Conspecific and interspecific social tendencies in dogs: the influence
of training, breed
and personality on prosocial attitudes in pet dogs
The aim of this PhD project is to investigate whether and to what
extent dogs show prosocial
attitudes. Pro-social behavior is defined as actively granting food
to a companion and is
considered to be part of altruism. In humans helping one another is
closley linked to emotions
and results in feeling good. Pro-social tendencies have been found
to be strongest towards
familiar and bonded partners such as kin and group mates. Although
pro-social tendencies
have traditionally been investigated between conspecifics, because
of the peculiar
interspecific bond between dogs and humans, the current project will
also explore whether
dogs show prosocial tendencies also towards their human partners.
A number of issues will be
explored a) if and to what extent dogs show pro-social attitudes,
b) how these reactions are
affected by the relationship with the partners and c) by their personality;
d) if different breeds
(e.g. selected for cooperative work vs. independent work) exhibit
pro-social tendencies to
different degrees, and lastly e) whether training for specific tasks
(selected based on the
degree of cooperative work required) affect dog’s prosocial tendencies.
Eligible candidates will have a master’s degree (or Diplom) in Biology,
Veterinary Medicine
or Psychology and research experience in animal behavior, a genuine
understanding of animal
cognition and a strong commitment to basic science. Practical skills
in animal training
techniques and in empirical work with dogs are beneficial, but not
a precondition. This PhD
project is funded by the Austrian Science Funds (FWF). The project
is based at the Clever
Dog Lab of the Messerli Research Institute (at the University of Veterinary
Medicine Vienna)
and co-supervised by Dr. Sarah Marshall-Pescini, Prof. Ludwig Huber
and Dr. Zsófia Virányi.
Principal investigator of the whole project and supervisor of this
PhD-project: Dr. Friederike
Range.
2) Prosocial attitudes in dogs and wolves
The aim of this PhD project is to investigate whether and to what
extent canines show
prosocial attitudes and the effect of domestication on the propensity
to exhibit these
behaviours. Pro-social behavior is defined as actively granting food
to a companion and is
considered to be part of altruism. In humans helping one another is
closley linked to emotions
and results in feeling good. Pro-social tendencies have been found
to be strongest towards
familiar and bonded partners such as kin and group mates. Furthermore,
it is hypothesized
that species with strong cooperative tendencies (e.g. joint pup-raising)
are more likely to show
prosocial behaviors than others. Here we will investigate a) if and
to what extent dogs and
wolves show pro-social attitudes, b) how these reactions are affected
by the relationship with
the partners (i.e. in terms of kinship and friendship/affiliation)
and c) to what extent emotions
play a role. By comparing pack-living wolves and dogs raised and kept
in the same way at the
Wolf Science Center in various test situations varying the relationship
with their partners and
complementing behavior testing with physiological measurements (cortisol
and heart rate), we
will explore the ultimate and proximate mechanism mediating prosocial
attitudes in canines.
Eligible candidates will have a master’s degree (or Diplom) in Biology,
Veterinary Medicine
or Psychology and research experience in animal behavior, a genuine
understanding of animal
cognition and a strong commitment to basic science. Practical skills
in animal training
techniques and in empirical work with dogs are beneficial, but not
a precondition. This PhD
project is part of a larger project funded by the European Research
Council (ERC) on
“Understanding the Proximate Mechanisms of Canine Cooperation. Although
the project is
based at the Messerli Research Institute (at the University of Veterinary
Medicine Vienna),
the research will be conducted at the Wolf Science Center, Ernstbrunn.
The project is cosupervised
by Dr. Sarah Marshall-Pescini, Prof. Ludwig Huber and Dr. Zsófia Virányi.
Principal investigator of the whole project and supervisor of this
PhD-project: Dr. Friederike
Range.
3) Inequity aversion in dogs and wolves
The aim of this PhD project is to investigate the cognitive and motivational
building blocks of
inequity aversion in canines. Inequity aversion is defined as partners
resisting inequitable
outcomes and is important for regulating and maintaining cooperation.
In humans, inequity
aversion seems to be based on the simultaneous evaluation of costs
and gains in comparison
to those of a partner, but also is dependent on the relationship between
the partners. At the
emotional level, it is strongly linked to anger. Although we know
that dogs react inequity
averse in a simple experimental paradigm, it is unclear a) how these
reactions are affected by
the relationship with the partners and b) to what extent emotions
play a role. Moreover, we
have little knowledge if and how domestication influenced canines
reactions to inequity. By
comparing pack-living wolves and dogs raised and kept in the same
way at the Wolf Science
Center in various test situations varying the relationship with their
partners and
complementing behavior testing with physiological measurements (cortisol
and heart rate), we
will explore the ultimate and proximate mechanism mediating inequity
aversion in canines.
Eligible candidates will have a master’s degree (or Diplom) in Biology,
Veterinary Medicine
or Psychology and research experience in animal behavior, a genuine
understanding of animal
cognition and a strong commitment to basic science. Practical skills
in animal training
techniques and in empirical work with dogs are beneficial, but not
a precondition. This PhD
project is part of a larger project funded by the European Research
Council (ERC) on
“Understanding the Proximate Mechanisms of Canine Cooperation. Although
the project is
based at the Messerli Research Institute (at the University of Veterinary
Medicine Vienna),
the research will be conducted at the Wolf Science Center, Ernstbrunn.
The PhD is cosupervised
by Dr. Sarah Marshall-Pescini, Dr. Zsófia Virányi and Prof. Ludwig
Huber.
Principal investigator of the whole project and supervisor of this
PhD-project: Dr. Friederike
Range.
4) The underlying mechanisms of inequity aversion in dogs
The aim of this PhD project is to investigate the underlying mechanism
of inequity aversion in
pet dogs. Inequity aversion is defined as partners resisting inequitable
outcomes and is
important for regulating and maintaining cooperation. In humans, inequity
aversion seems to
be based on the simultaneous evaluation of costs and gains in comparison
to those of a
partner. Although we know that dogs stop cooperating when treated
unequally, it is unclear
whether, like in humans, this behavior is driven by the same evaluation
of costs and gains in
comparison to the partner or based on simpler mechanisms. The aim
of this project is to
devise experimental designs allowing for understanding the cognitive
and emotional
mechanisms of inequity aversion in pet dogs.
Eligible candidates will have a master’s degree (or Diplom) in Biology,
Veterinary Medicine
or Psychology and research experience in animal behavior, a genuine
understanding of animal
cognition and a strong commitment to basic science. Practical skills
in animal training
techniques and in empirical work with dogs are beneficial, but not
a precondition. This PhD
project is funded by the Austrian Science Funds (FWF). The project
is based at the Clever
Dog Lab of the Messerli Research Institute (at the University of Veterinary
Medicine Vienna)
and co-supervised by Dr. Sarah Marshall-Pescini, Dr. Zsófia Virányi
and Prof. Ludwig Huber.
Principal investigator of the whole project and supervisor of this
PhD-project: Dr. Friederike
Range.
The Messerli Research Institute has been recently founded with support
of the University of
Veterinary Medicine Vienna, the Medical University of Vienna, the
University of Vienna and
the Messerli Foundation (Switzerland) for the scientific study of
human-animal interactions,
with an integrative and highly interdisciplinary approach of comparative
cognition and
behaviour, comparative medicine, and animal ethics. Its division on
Comparative Cognition
(headed by L. Huber) investigates the cognitive abilities in both
the social and physical
domain of various, free-living as well as domesticated, animal species
ranging from keas to
dogs. At the Clever Dog Lab (www.cleverdoglab.at) and the Wolf Science
Center
(www.wolfscience.at) an international team of students and researchers
studies the cognition
and behaviour of canines.
Application: Materials including a letter of application, CV, a summary
of research
experience, copies of any published or in-press papers, and two letters
of recommendation
should be sent to Dr. Friederike Range by email (friederike.range_###_vetmeduni.ac.at)
by 1st
February 2013. All positions are for three years; starting date for
positions 1 & 2: 1st March
2013; for positions 3 & 4: 1st June 2013. Salaries according to
the standards of Austrian basic
science funds.
The University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna promotes the employment
of women in fields
of work in which they are underrepresented and therefore encourages
qualified women to
apply to this opening. Disabled people will be preferentially treated
if qualified
12-18
A friend of mine is looking for a post-doc and a graduate research
assistant to work on the behavioural ecology and reproductive biology
of free-ranging hedgehogs in Qatar:
http://faculty.qu.edu.qa/yamaguchi/news.htm
He's keen to recruit people with a background in behavioural
ecology/evolutionary biology.
If you know any students/colleagues who may be interested in this,
please could you pass this on to them?
11-07
PhD: SOCIAL EVOLUTION THEORY, JYVÄSKYLÄ, FINLAND
Eusocial organisms such as bees and ants pose a challenge for
evolutionary theory because they exhibit altruistic traits that
contradict the Darwinian principle of individual fitness maximization.
Although a large body of theory exists on the evolution of altruistic
traits, few studies have explicitly modelled the transition from a
solitary lifestyle to eusociality, including feedbacks between gene
frequencies, colony dynamics and population ecology that are a
necessary part of this process.
We aim to fill this gap by building models based on recent theoretical
advances. Applicants should have a degree in a relevant area (e.g.
behavioural ecology, evolutionary biology, economics with focus on
game theory, physics, mathematics, computer science), with some
mathematical and computing skills and a keen interest in evolutionary
biology. The project will be supervised by Lutz Fromhage at the
University of Jyväskylä, in collaboration with Hanna Kokko at
Australian National University, Canberra.
Funding is provided by the Department of Biological and Environmental
Science to fill positions in two out of four competing projects, of
which the above project is one. The department seeks to recruit new
students into its PhD programme, starting 1 January 2013. The goal
of
the department is that the student completes the PhD degree in four
years. Initially, the successful candidates will receive a one year
employment contract, which can be extended up to four years after
positive progress evaluation.
The application deadline is on 23 November 2012, 4:15 pm. Applications
should be submitted exclusively through
www.jyu.fi/science/en/applicationformphdstudents, and should include
a
CV, and a research and study plan. Before submitting the application,
the applicant is advised to contact Dr. Lutz Fromhage:
lutz.fromhage_###_jyu.fi
Dr. Lutz Fromhage
University of Jyväskylä
PO Box 35, 40014 Finland
tel: +358 404834256
10-25
Graduate fellowship opportunities are available in Insect Systematics,
Evolution, Phylogenomics and Behavior at the University of Florida
At UF, you can learn high-throughput genomics, combine molecular
and
organismal approaches, and study the phylogenomics, systematics,
evolution, informatics, morphology, taxonomy, behavior, biogeography
and
conservation of insects.
Feel free to contact Akito Kawahara (kawahara_###_flmnh.ufl.edu),
Marc Branham
(marcbran_###_ufl.edu), Jiri Hulcr (hulcr_###_ufl.edu), Andrea Lucky
(alucky_###_ufl.edu), or Keith Willmott (kwillmott_###_flmnh.ufl.edu)
For more information on our labs, visit:
www.flmnh.ufl.edu/mcguire/kawahara/uf-insect-systematics/
If you are serious, please send your CV to the PI of interest.
A PhD-postition in systematics on Chironomidae (Diptera) is available
at NTNU Museum of Natural History and Archaeology in Trondheim. Please
see this link for more information and how to apply:http://www.jobbnorge.no/job.aspx?jobid=87295.
10-19
Post Doctoral Research Scientist – Biodiversity/Species distribution
Modeling
The Biodiversity team of Irstea (Nogent sur Vernisson) seeks to hire
a
post-doctoral research associate to participate in a project related
to the statistical validation or invalidation of forest management
biodiversity indicators related to tree stands. The work continues
ongoing research on the relationship between floristic biodiversity
and tree stand features, taking into account the niche of the species
or of the ecological groups (with parametric techniques close to
species distribution models). One of the key points of the work would
be to model different shapes of relationship between tree stand
indicators and biodiversity (linear, threshold, non-linear…).
Possibilities of extension include Structural Equation Modelling.
Minimum Qualifications:
Ph.D. with experience desirable in ecology (preferred: vegetal
community ecology) and statistical parametric modeling (preferred:
Bayesian tools). Applied statisticians can also candidate. Must have
a
record of publication in one of these fields.
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience in R, and potentially in C-coding.
Experience in approaches and theories in community ecology.
To Apply: contact Frédéric Gosselin. The project will be developed
with the candidate, both for local and national application. All
applicants must submit: 1) curriculum vitae, 2) minimum two
professional references with contacts, and 3) cover letter describing
relevant research interests and experience.
Email: frederic.gosselin###irstea.fr
Irstea - Domaine des Barres
F-45290 Nogent sur Vernisson
03-02
PhD position: PHYLOGEOGRAPHY AND POPULATION GENETICS OF SOUTH PACIFIC
ANTS
Laboratory of Ecology and Evolution of Social Insects, Biology Center,
Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
We are looking for a motivated student with biology background to
join our international team focused on ecology and evolution of tropical
ants. The PhD candidate will study phylogeography and population history
of ants from Melanesia and South Pacific. He/she will use various
genomic and genetic tools to study the origin and relationship of
ant faunas in New Guinea and South Pacific islands. She/he will combine
traditional population genetics methods with Next Generation Sequencing
tools. The project will involve repeated research stays in laboratories
in the US (Harvard Univ.) and Mexico (LANGEBIO, http://www.langebio.cinvestav.mx/),
where the student will develop genomic tools.
We offer 4 years grant contract (50%) at Biology Center, Czech Academy
of Sciences (http://www.entu.cas.cz/en/). The student will be required
to enroll into associated PhD program at Faculty of Science, Univ.
of South Bohemia (http://www.prf.jcu.cz/en/). The salary and stipend
are sufficient to cover living expenses in Czech Republic. The beginning
of the project is between June and August 2012.
Requirements:
- fluent English and ability to communicate with an international
team
- Master degree in biology
- experience with laboratory techniques used in molecular biology
(e.g. Sanger sequencing, microsatellite genotyping)
- highly independent
- experience with work in R, and/or basic programming skills (Perl,
Python) is preferred
- experience with genetic, bioinformatics, phylogenetic or biogeography
research is advantageous
We offer:
- participation in cutting-edge research
- access to unique ecological and biological data and original research
topics
- research stays at collaborting institutions in USA and Mexico
- opportunity to learn novel methods of data gathering and processing
(NGS)
Interested candidates should send a short statement of interest,
a CV, and the addresses of two potential referees to Milan Janda.
mjanda###oeb.harvard.edu
Closing date for applications is April 5th 2011.
Starting date for the position is flexible between June and September
2012.
For further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Dr. Milan Janda
Biology Center, Czech Academy of Sciences
Branisovska 31, 37005, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
email: mjanda###oeb.harvard.edu
more information:
www.newguineants.org
www.entu.cas.cz/en/
http://www.entu.cas.cz/en/departments/department-of-ecology-and-conservation-biology/
-----------------------------
PHD POSITION IN ANT ECOLOGY
Laboratory of Ecology and Evolution of Social Insects Biology Center,
Czech Academy of Sciences
is looking for a PhD student for project:
MECHANISMS STRUCTURING ARBOREAL ANT COMMUNITIES IN TROPICAL FORESTS
We are looking for a motivated student to join our research team
focused on ecology of tropical insects and plants (V. Novotný/Y. Basset
group). The PhD candidate will study ecology and diversity of ants
of New Guinea. He/she will participate on processing of unique material
and datasets from one of the last unknown frontiers rain forest canopies.
She/he will combine traditional taxonomic methods with molecular tools
(barcoding, species phylogeny) and analyse ecological community data.
He/she will work on available material and have opportunity to conduct
research at our field stations in Papua New Guinea.
We offer 4-years scholarship at PhD program at Faculty of Science,
University of South Bohemia (http://www.prf.jcu.cz/en/) and grant
contract (50% position) at Biology Center, Czech Academy of Sciences
(http://www.entu.cas.cz/en/). All research costs are fully covered.
The scholarship including salary (~7000€ annually) is highly sufficient
to cover all living expenses in the Czech Republic.
Starting date for the position is flexible between April and September
2012.
Requirements:
- Master degree (or equivalent) in biology & environmental sciences
- enthusiasm for the topic and motivation to learn new things
- analytical experience with R and/or other statistical packages
- fluent English and ability to communicate within an international
team
We offer:
- participation in cutting-edge tropical ecology research
- access to unique ecological and biological data and original research
topics
- opportunity to learn novel methods
- combination of lab and field work
Candidates should send a statement of interest, a CV, and support
letters from two referees to Dr. PETR KLIME©: peta.klimes###gmail.com.
Deadline for applications is 1st April.
For further information do not hesitate to contact:
Petr Klimeą, Biology Center, Czech Academy of Sciences
Branisovska 31, 370 05, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, Ph.N. +
420 - 387 775 332