Eligibility: UK and European Union applicants only (for details see: www.nerc.ac.uk/funding/application/studentships/)
This PhD studentship supported by the Natural Environment Research Council, UK (NERC)-IAPETUS Doctoral Training Partnership is now open for applications from interested candidates. Candidates will be competitively assessed across all IAPETUS DTP projects (http://www.iapetus.ac.uk<http://www.iapetus.ac.uk/> ) and will need to meet NERC minimum eligibility requirements (seehttp://www.nerc.ac.uk/funding/available/postgrad/eligibility.asp ). Successful projects are anticipated to start from Oct 2014. The studentship includes tuition fees, monthly stipend, and research funds depending on eligibility. Please contact Luc Bussière ([email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>) for more information about applying. Consequences of life history variation for demographic and phenological responses to environmental change http://www.iapetus.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/IAP_13_82-STI-Bussiere.pdf Supervisors: Luc Bussière (University of Stirling), Philip Stephens (University of Durham), Mario Vallejo-Marin (University of Stirling) Although shifts in phenology (the timings of recurrent biological phenomena) are among the clearest and best-supported consequences of climate change, both the factors predicting phenological shifts and the community consequences of such transitions remain far from clear. Life history traits (which affect age-specific probabilities of survival and reproduction) should play a central role in phenological evolution, but we need research that explores their possible contributions to interspecific diversity in the timing, duration and rate of progression of developmental stages. Assessing the likely consequences of phenological shifts for communities further requires empirical assessments of how shifts in phenology affect the fitness of interacting symbionts, and modelled simulations that explore the demographics of participants under alternate climate change scenarios. This PhD project will assess whether phenological shifts predictably differ among species characterized by contrasting life histories, and the consequences of such shifts for the fitness of symbionts. We focus on two groups with extraordinary variation in life history traits (hoverflies and dance flies) who provide a valuable pollination service to symbiotic flowering plants (flies are the main pollinators of many plants including members of the family Brassicaceae). Many hoverfly adults feed mainly on pollen and nectar (hence their value as pollinators), but their larvae have tremendously diverse habits, ranging from filter feeders living within rotting vegetation through to predaceous forms that devour other insects. These differences in larval diet could change the sensitivity of species to phenological cues, or alter adult requirements for pollen feeding. Dance flies are also important pollinators (especially in some habitats like the high arctic), and are known for unusual variation in sexual behaviour, including both classical sex-roles and sex-role reversed species. These differences in mating systems have strong implications for the timing and duration of adult activity. The PhD project will have three main parts, each dedicated to an important aim: Part 1: The candidate will use long-term historical data (from museums, recording schemes, and the Rothamsted Insect Survey) to assess covariance between life history traits and phenology across species of hoverflies and dance flies. The candidate will learn to apply advanced statistical models (using likelihood-based parameter exploration and model selection) to summarize phenologies, and ask whether and how life history traits affect parameters in these best-fit equations. Part 2: We will measure the consequences of variation in life history and phenology for pollination efficiency and seed set using field work on experimental arrays of radishes (Brassicaceae: Raphanus sativus). Flies are frequent and important pollinators, and radishes are self-incompatible (obligate outcrossers), often showing highly variable seed set. In consecutive field seasons, we will experimentally manipulate radish phenology and regress seed set on observations of pollinator phenology and abundance. Part 3: Using parameters describing the phenology of fly species, including transitions in phenology over time (from part 1), we will simulate changes in the temporal structure of community composition under different climate change scenarios. We will also assess the consequences of such change for the fitness of populations having varying floral phenologies and sensitivities to pollinator identity (based on observations of seed set in part 2). Application procedure To apply, contact Dr. Bussiere ([email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>) ASAP to indicate your interest and obtain further instructions. The formal application to the University of Stirling Graduate School (including a current CV, personal statement, two references, and full transcripts) is due no later than Monday, 10 Feb 2014 (5PM GMT), but you will want to discuss your candidacy with Dr. Bussière before submitting. Informal enquiries are welcome. http://lucbussiere.com/
