[ECOLOG-L] PhD position in ant-plant interactions in tropical rain forest
A PhD Studentship is available to work on "Testing impacts of ant-plant protection mutualisms on plant community dynamics in Papua New Guinea" A highly motivated postgraduate student is sought to join a project exploring the effects of ant inhabitation of trees on plant community dynamics. Usually proximity to adult conspecifics reduces survival of plant seedlings due to sharing of natural enemies between adult trees and seedlings. We seek to test the hypothesis that for plants regularly inhabited by ants that protect them from herbivory, proximity to adult trees is beneficial due to ant partner sharing. We will also explore whether this process is likely to affect the dynamics of entire plant communities. The student will conduct field surveys for ant-inhabited trees, measure ant and plant fitness correlates, and perform experimental seedling transplants. There will also be opportunities to develop the project in a direction of the student’s own choosing. Duties will include spending extensive periods of time in the field in Papua New Guinea. The successful applicant will join the Ant Research Group (http://antscience.com/) at the Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, under the supervision of Tom Fayle (http://www.tomfayle.com/index.htm), Petr Klimes (https://www.entu.cas.cz/en/staff/profile/424/), and Vojtech Novotny (https://www.plantanimalinteractions.com/). The laboratory is a dynamic, multinational group studying ant ecology, evolution and biogeography, and is embedded within the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, a world-class centre for interaction network research with regular publications in Science, Nature and other leading journals. The deadline for applications is December 28th 2018, with a start date of March 1st 2019. The student will receive a scholarship from the University of South Bohemia and employment on an ongoing grant for the 4-year PhD course, sufficient to cover living expenses in Czech Republic. Applicants from all countries are eligible. Required • A master’s degree (non-negotiable requirement for PhD study in Czech Republic). • Interest in the ecology of insects and/or plants. • 1st or upper second (2.1) undergraduate degree in ecology or related subject (or equivalent). • Enthusiasm for working in the field for extended periods of time in challenging conditions in tropical rain forest. • Ability to work independently and manage small teams of assistants. • Fluency in spoken and written English • Experience in the use of ecological statistical analyses. Desirable • Previous experience of tropical field work. • Research experience with plant or insect ecology. • Experience with basic ecological molecular lab work relating to use for species identification • Experience with scientific publishing in the above field To apply please send a CV, contact details for three references, and cover letter stating qualifications, previous work and motivation to Tom Fayle (tmfa...@gmail.com). Please also feel free to get in touch to discuss the project further.
[ECOLOG-L] Postdoctoral Researcher position in Network Ecology
A position as Postdoctoral Researcher is available to work on: Exploring changes in interaction network structure along environmental gradients using a meta-analytical approach A highly motivated Postdoctoral Researcher is sought to explore the shifts that occur in network structure along natural and anthropogenic environmental gradients. The successful candidate will join the LifeWebs project (www.lifewebs.net), which seeks to understand broad-scale network ecology through collation and analyses of existing published and unpublished datasets. They will be responsible for collating additional network datasets through searches of published literature and requests to authors, management of the database and analyses of network patterns. We are particularly interested in changes in network structure in relation to latitude, elevation, anthropogenic habitat degradation, and habitat fragmentation. The work will span a range of terrestrial interaction network types, including insect-parasitoid, animal-parasite, plant-animal pollinator (including vertebrates), ant-plant mutualism, plant-herbivore, plant-seed disperser, insect-fungus, and vertebrate predation datasets. The position purely analytical, and there is not a field component to the work. There will be opportunities to develop the project in an analytical direction of the postdoc’s own choosing. The successful applicant will join the Ant Research Group (http://antscience.com/) at the Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, employed on a grant held by Tom Fayle (http://www.tomfayle.com/index.htm). The Ant Research Group is a dynamic, multinational group studying ant ecology, evolution and biogeography, and is embedded within the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, a world-class centre for interaction network research with regular publications in Science, Nature and other leading journals. The position allows the successful candidate to apply for standard research grants from the main Czech grant agency (GACR) to eventually expand the project. The deadline for applications is January 10th 2019, with a start date of April 1st 2019, and the appointment lasting until Dec 31st 2021 (33 months). Applicants from all countries are eligible. Salary for this full time position is CZK 40,000 per month (approx. EUR 1500 pre-tax). Note that living costs in Czech Republic are substantially lower than in many other European countries and the salary is competitive for such position (e.g. http://bit.ly/1NCkQKJ). Required • A PhD degree in network ecology or a related field. • Experience of use of databases, or evidence of ability and interest to learn. • Good publication record for career stage. • Experience in the use of ecological statistical analyses, preferably with a focus on network analyses. Desirable • Previous work using a data collation and meta-analytical approach. • A strong publication record in ecological modelling and/or analysis of biological interactions. • Experience of managing small teams or supervising students for research projects. To apply please send a CV, contact details for three references, and cover letter stating qualifications, previous work and motivation to Tom Fayle (tmfa...@gmail.com).
[ECOLOG-L] Postdoc: Biology Centre of Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic - Ant-plant interactions and tropical habitat change
A highly motivated Postdoctoral Researcher is sought to join a project exploring the shifts that occur in a mutualistic ant-plant network when tropical rain forest is logged, fragmented, and converted to oil palm plantation in Malaysian Borneo. The successful candidate will lead a team conducting field surveys for ant-inhabited trees, measuring ant and plant fitness correlates, and performing experimental manipulations of the mutualistic communities, in particular in relation to forest regeneration. They will also conduct analyses and write papers on the main project findings. The project will provide the opportunity to collaborate with two cutting-edge large-scale manipulations of tropical forests: 1. The Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems project (SAFE), the world’s largest rain forest fragmentation experiment. 2. The Sabah Biodiversity Experiment (SBE), a project assessing the impacts of different diversities of tree planting on ecosystem functioning. There will also be opportunities to develop the project in a direction of the postdoc’s own choosing. Duties will include spending extensive periods of time in the field in Malaysian Borneo. The successful applicant will join the Ant Research Group (http://antscience.com/) at the Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, employed on a grant held by Tom Fayle (http://www.tomfayle.com/index.htm). The group is a dynamic, multinational group studying ant ecology, evolution and biogeography, and is embedded within the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, a world-class centre for interaction network research with regular publications in Science, Nature and other leading journals. The position allows the successful candidate to apply for standard research grants from the main Czech grant agency (GACR) to expand the project. The deadline for applications is February 29th 2016, with a start date of May 1st 2016, and the appointment lasting until Dec 2018. Applicants from all countries are eligible. Salary for this full time position is CZK 40,000 per month (approx. EUR 1500). Note that living costs in Czech Republic are substantially lower than in many other European countries (e.g. http://bit.ly/1NCkQKJ) and living costs in Malaysia are fully covered. Required •A PhD degree in either entomology or plant ecology. •Experience and enthusiasm for working in the field for extended periods of time in challenging conditions in tropical rain forest, including ability to lead field teams. •Good publication record for career stage. •Experience in the use of ecological statistical analyses. Desirable •Previous work on insect plant interactions. •Experience of molecular laboratory work, specifically DNA barcoding for species identifications. •Experience in use of methods for statistical analysis of interaction networks. To apply please send a CV, contact details for three references, and cover letter stating qualifications, previous work and motivation to Tom Fayle (tmfa...@gmail.com).
[ECOLOG-L] Graduate position: University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic - Ant-plant interactions and tropical habitat change
A highly motivated postgraduate student is sought to join a project exploring the shifts that occur in a mutualistic ant-plant network when tropical rain forest is logged, fragmented, and converted to oil palm plantation in Malaysian Borneo. The student will conduct field surveys for ant-inhabited trees, measure ant and plant fitness correlates, and perform experimental manipulations of the mutualistic communities, in particular in relation to forest regeneration. The studentship will provide the opportunity to collaborate with two cutting-edge large-scale manipulations of tropical forests: 1. The Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems project (SAFE), the world’s largest rain forest fragmentation experiment. 2. The Sabah Biodiversity Experiment (SBE), a project assessing the impacts of different diversities of tree planting on ecosystem functioning. There will also be opportunities to develop the project in a direction of the student’s own choosing. Duties will include spending extensive periods of time in the field in Malaysian Borneo. The successful applicant will join the Ant Research Group (http://antscience.com/) at the Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, under the supervision of Tom Fayle (http://www.tomfayle.com/index.htm). The laboratory is a dynamic, multinational group studying ant ecology, evolution and biogeography, and is embedded within the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, a world-class centre for interaction network research with regular publications in Science, Nature and other leading journals. The deadline for applications is February 29th 2016, with a start date of May 1st 2016. The student will receive a scholarship from the University of South Bohemia and employment on an ongoing grant for three years, sufficient to cover living expenses in Czech Republic. Applicants from all countries are eligible. Required •A master’s degree (non-negotiable requirement for PhD study in Czech Republic). •Interest in the ecology of insects or plants. •1st or 2.1 undergraduate degree in ecology or related subject (or equivalent). •Enthusiasm for working in the field for extended periods of time in challenging conditions in tropical rain forest. •Ability to work independently. •Experience in the use of ecological statistical analyses. Desirable •Previous experience of tropical field work. •Research experience with plant or insect ecology. •Experience of molecular laboratory work, specifically DNA barcoding for species identifications. To apply please send a CV, contact details for three references, and cover letter stating qualifications, previous work and motivation to Tom Fayle (tmfa...@gmail.com).
