*Two fully-funded PhD Scholarships*
/Investigating native plants derived from whole-genome duplication
events and understanding why they are successful/
*/Project description:/*//We are seeking two highly-motivated PhD
students for a project that seeks to understand why plants with multiple
sets of chromosomes (polyploidy) are so common in New Zealand and
elsewhere. The three-year project is part of a new Royal Society of New
Zealand Marsden Fund grant. Specifically, we want to determine the
relative roles of genetic differentiation, genomic downsizing, trait
innovation and novel ecological opportunities in the evolutionary
success of many polypoid species.Our prediction is that polyploidy
creates both costs and opportunities for plants which limit the type of
environments they can occupy. The idea is to investigate plant lineages
in New Zealand with well-documented and different levels of chromosome
duplication. With the research team, the aim is obtain information on
genome size, gene expression, phylogenetic relationships,
ecophysiological and trait features, and undertake process-based niche
modelling across ploidy levels in six representative lineages
(e.g./Asplenium, Poa, Plantago, Schizeilema, Leptinella, Veronica/).
This is an ideal PhD opportunity in evolutionary ecology and the
students will gain experience in genomic analysis, comparative
phylogenetics, trait analysis, and species distribution modelling,
depending on their interests.
*/Project Supervisors:/*//Professor Bill Lee, School of Biological
Sciences, University of Auckland and Landcare Research, Dunedin, New
Zealand; Dr Jen Tate, Massey University, Palmerston North; Dr Heidi
Meudt and Dr Patrick Brownsey,Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa ,
Wellington. The PhD students will also gain experience working with
Professor Dirk Albach (Carl von Ossietzky-University Oldenburg, Germany)
and Dr Andrew Tanentzap (University of Cambridge, UK).
*/Funding:/*Funding includes a tax-free stipend, full tuition fees, and
operational expenses for travel, conference attendance and research
expenses over the 3-year programme. Both international and domestic
students are eligible. One PhD (ecophysiology, species distribution
modelling) will be run from the University of Auckland but will include
time at Landcare Research in Dunedin, while the other (phylogenetics,
genomics) will be based at Massey University, Palmerston North.
*/Requirements:/*Applicants should have completed a degree with a
significant research component (e.g. MSc or BSc Honours), and have an
excellent academic record. Applicants need to have a background either
in plant ecology, ecophysiology, phylogenetics or computational biology.
Applicants should email their CV, academic transcripts, a cover letter
stating why you are interested in the position and how your
qualifications and experience make you a good fit for the proposed
research, and the contact details for at least two referees to Prof.
Bill Lee (wg....@auckland.ac.nz
<mailto:wg....@auckland.ac.nz>orl...@landcareresearch.co.nz
<mailto:l...@landcareresearch.co.nz>). Applications close on 1^st April
2017.
