PhD Opportunities at Durham, UK
Two Ecology/Conservation PhD opportunities are available for high quality students at Durham, UK. Brief details are provided below. Further details are available at findaphd.com and in the pdfs linked below. (1) ‘The role of climate and habitat in the reproduction and population dynamics of insectivorous birds in British woodlands.’ Supervised by Dr Stephen Willis, School of Biological Sciences, Durham University and Professor Mark Whittingham, Newcastle University, in collaboration with the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). Aims: The project will explore the impacts of spatial and temporal patterns of habitat and climate variability, at both country-wide and single-site scales, on the breeding performance of nest-box populations of Blue Tits and Great Tits across the UK. We will explore the impacts of habitat and climate on factors such as timing of nesting, rates of chick growth and fledging success. We will relate annual condition (and post-fledgling survival) of nestlings (from ringing/banding data) to fledging condition and timing, and relate these factors to habitat and climate. Finally, we will explore the potential impacts of variation in climate-driven breeding success on population changes in these common woodland species at local, regional and national scales. Methodology: We will explore the relationship between habitat and climate (using field and remote-sensed data) across the UK on the timing and reproductive success of both species, using a combination of BTO nest record data (one of the world’s largest datasets on nesting) and fieldwork. The student will conduct fieldwork across a range of well-monitored sites to record vegetation composition and structure and local topography/microclimate variables, which will then be related to measures of tit productivity (laying date, clutch size, brood size etc.) at these sites. The student will also analyse annual over-winter survival rates from ringing recovery data allowing regional population models to be developed. The student will be based principally in Durham and will undertake fieldwork both at Durham and more widely across the UK. In addition, we anticipate that the student will spend periods at BTO headquarters in Norfolk, where they can access nest record data and benefit from the expertise within the BTO. See http://www.dur.ac.uk/s.g.willis/Durham_nestboxes_studentship_flyer.pdf for further information and the application process. (2) ‘Global ecotourism: its current and future potential in a changing world’ Supervised by Dr Stephen Willis, School of Biological Sciences, Durham University and Professor Mark Whittingham, Newcastle University Background: Ecotourism is now recognised as a major component of global tourism but understanding of the drivers of such tourism, in terms of the principal attractants and the reason that priority sites attract so many eco-tourists, are little understood yet vital to the conservation of biodiversity. Aims: Here we propose a novel use of conservation planning software, to highlight priority conservation sites for ecotourism. We will highlight sites that maximise ecotourism attraction and conservation value yet have minimal travel and financial costs. Moreover, we will highlight regions with high ecotourism potential that are currently under-exploited and, by modelling the future distribution of species under predictions of climate change, we will simulate how ecotourism patterns might change in the future. Methods: We will explore two complementary approaches to identify key ecotourism sites, based on species diversity and the rare/charismatic species they contain. We will compile a database of key biodiversity sites across the world, and the species/assemblages associated with that site. As an alternative approach, we will use species distribution and habitat data to simulate assemblages of birds and mammals in both protected and non-protected areas globally. We will simulate species richness data for both protected and non-protected terrestrial areas. Some guidelines have been suggested to define charismatic species but there has never been a rigorous assessment of (a) species charisma/attractiveness and (b) the ecotourism attraction of different sites. By relating resultant scores to collated figures of ecotourism visitation (controlling for locality) we can test our understanding of global ecotourism and, for the first, time quantify the principal drives of ecotourism. We will use conservation planning software to select sites/regions that maximises ecotourism benefits (using various metrics) for a minimal carbon, travel or fiscal cost. To estimate changes to ecotourism patterns in the future we will use simulations of future species assemblages in protected and non-protected areas, combined with future projections of travel costs and disposable incomes per capita. See http://www.dur.ac.uk/s.g.willis/Durham_ecotourism_studentship_flyer.pdf for further information and the application process. The projects are in competition with others for funding. Success will depend on the quality of applications received, relative to those for competing projects. Contact [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]%20> if you have specific queries.
