A two-year postdoc is available on August 1, 2018 for an innovative and
motivated person to work on
the adaptation of Pachyrhynchus weevils or the speciation of endemic
Psolodesmus damselflies.
Project:
The position is funded by the MOST (Ministry of Science & Technology, Taiwan)
grants focused on
testing hypotheses about the adaptation of aposematic colors in Pachyrhynchus
weevils and the
process of species formation in two subspecies of Psolodesmus damselflies.
1. Aposematism of Weevils
Pachyrhynchus weevils are a group of brilliant, metallic-colored weevils
distributed in the Old World
tropics. Recent studies showed that the conspicuous colouration of these
weevils function as
effective warning signals for their hard bodies to prevent predacious pursuit
by lizards. We are
interested in studying the adaptation, evolution, and
spatio-temporal dynamics of interactions between vertebrate predators and
aposematic prey using
these weevils.
Related articles:
Wang, L-Y., W-S. Huang, H-C. Tang, L-C. Huang and C-P. Lin* (2018) Too hard to
swallow: A secret
secondary defence of an aposematic insect. Journal of Experimental Biology 221.
Tseng, H-Y., W-S. Huang, M-L. Jeng, R.J.T. Villanueva, O.M. Nuñeza and C-P.
Lin* (2018) Complex
inter-island colonization and peripatric founder speciation promote
diversification of flightless
Pachyrhynchus weevils in the Taiwan-Luzon volcanic belt.
Journal of Biogeography 45: 89–100.
Chen, Y-T., H-Y. Tseng, M-L. Jeng, Y-C. Su, W-S. Huang and C-P. Lin* (2017)
Integrated species
delimitation and conservation implications of an endangered weevil
Pachyrhynchus sonani
(Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Green and Orchid Islands of Taiwan. Systematic
Entomology 42: 796–
813.
Tseng, H-Y., C-P. Lin*, J-Y Hsu, D.A. Pike and W-S. Huang* (2014) The
functional significance of
aposematic signals: geographic variation in the responses of widespread lizard
predators to colourful
invertebrate prey. PLoS ONE 9(3):e91777.
2. Damselfly Speciation
We focus on a damselfly species, Psolodesmus mandarinus, with two subspecies
differ in their
distribution and wing pigmentations in Taiwan. It provides a great opportunity
to evaluate the relative
importance of natural and sexual selection in damselfly divergence. The project
will incorporate a
wide range of techniques, including a whole-island field survey, behavioural
studies, manipulation
experiments, population genetics and genomic analysis to investigate the
divergence in damselflies.
A description of the research project:
https://sites.google.com/site/yuhsunhsu/research?pli=1
Requirement:
1. The postdoctoral fellow will be responsible for either leading a
hypothesis-driven field/laboratory
experiment, or the analyses of genomic-scale DNA sequence data sets. The
applicant is also
encouraged to develop an independent project based on applicant's expertise and
the study systems.
2. The successful applicant must have demonstrated expertise in behavioral
ecology, population
genetics, phylogenetics, genomics, or computational statistics.
3. Preference will be given to candidates with:
(1) Background in behavioral ecology studies, (2) Experience of high
performance computing, (3) The
ability to develop and apply statistical or computational methods to solve
biological problems, (4)
Expertise in research on adaptation, speciation, theoretical models of
evolution, or
trait divergence.
Application:
To apply, please contact Chung-Ping Lin by email
(treehop...@ntnu.edu.tw), and attach a single PDF file containing: 1) a cover
letter, 2) a CV, 3) a brief
2-page statement of research interests, and how your skills can contribute to
project objectives, and
4) contact information for three references.
Salary & Deadline:
The position will be available from 2018/08 to 2020/07. Start date is flexible.
Funding is available for
at least 2 year with a potential extension of 3 years, pending on the
performance and funding.
A monthly post-doc salary of about $55,000 NTD ($1,900 USD) will be offered,
including retirement
plan, health benefits, and a year-ending bonus of 1.5- month salary. The
average living cost in Taiwan
is about 1/2 of that in the USA.
The position will remain open until a suitable candidate is found.
More information:
Chung Ping Lin's lab: http://web.ntnu.edu.tw/~treehopper/
