The Yohannes lab at the University of Konstanz, Germany, member of the International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Organismal Biology, is offering the fully-funded three-year PhD position
Isotopic finger-printing of contemporary and historic changes in copepod trophic position following a shift in lake trophy Project abstract Copepods play a central role in freshwater food webs. As primary or secondary consumers they utilize varieties of food items ranging from detritus, bacteria to a wide array of phytoplankton and transfer the energy of primary production to higher trophic levels. During the last decades, many lakes, including Lake Constance, have experienced changes in their trophic status, i.e., eutrophication to oligotrophication. Several studies report species-specific responses of copepods to environmental changes highlighting that the response of copepods to environmental changes should only be analyzed on a species level. We propose to estimate the shift in trophic position of copepods following the change in lake trophy of Lake Constance applying three copepod species that differ in important aspects of their life history i.e., in the presence and timing of diapause & diet Cyclops vicinus (with typical summer diapause), Mesocyclops leuckarti (winter diapause), and Eudiaptomus gracilis (without diapause). The species with either summer or winter diapause experience environmental and dietary changes only during the seasons when they are active since they are on diapause during the rest of the annual cycle. Lake Constance is highly suited for such an analysis since the lake is regularly monitored with high sampling frequency and archived materials that date back to early 1960s. This study will use isotopic and amino acid finger-printing of both recent and archived materials to reconstruct individual species response to past food-web structure during periods of significant ecosystem change. The successful applicant will participate in the International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Organismal Biology, the PhD program of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen and Radolfzell and the University of Konstanz. All IMPRS students are supported by stipends or contracts. The program offers a dedicated teaching program, high quality research experience, and outstanding research facilities in an inspiring research and living environment. The working language is English. Each PhD student receives individual supervision and mentoring and is guided in her/his research work by a PhD advisory committee. Qualification Applicants should hold a MSc or equivalent degree in biology or a related discipline at the point of enrollment. Queries should be mailed to the IMPRS program office: im...@uni-konstanz.de Deadline for the application is January 15, 2013. Interviews are scheduled for Mid- March. The successful candidate is expected to start latest September 2013. The University of Konstanz is an equal opportunity employer. Application For the online application process visit www.orn.mpg.de/IMPRS More information at www.orn.mpg.de/IMPRS and www.facebook.com/OrganismalBiology
