Graduate student opportunities at Raine Pollinator lab
University of Guelph, Canada
Are you interested in the behaviour, ecology and
conservation of pollinators and looking to take
on the challenge of an MSc or PhD? Professor
Nigel Raine is looking for enthusiastic,
committed, and hard working students to join his
lab in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph.
Research topics for prospective graduate students include:
1. Assessing the impacts of a range of
environmental stress factors on native bees,
their colonies and populations. Stress factors
could include pesticide exposure, parasites and
poor nutrition both individually and in
combination (e.g. Baron et al. 2014; Gill et al.
2012; Stanley et al. 2015). The potential impacts
of environmental stressors on native bees are
comparatively unknown, and understanding effects
on behaviour and ecology of these essential
pollinators could have significant ramifications
for agricultural production and maintenance of wild plant biodiversity.
2. Establishing pollinator habitat and monitoring
pollinators. Opportunities could include working
with farmers to design, establish and monitor
demonstration plantings to support wild
pollinators in agricultural landscapes, assessing
the efficacy of pollinator seed mixes, the
production of practical aids to support a wide
range of stakeholders interested in creating and
managing habitat for pollinator conservation, and
involvement in a wider pollinator biodiversity
monitoring program for Ontario. These projects
aim to assess the current status and trends of
wild pollinator biodiversity, and support
sustainable ways to improve pollinator health, in the province.
3. Investigating how variation in learning and
memory can affect foraging performance and
reproduction of bees in the landscape (e.g. Raine
& Chittka 2008). Learning and memory play a key
role for bees when searching their environment
and choosing which flowers to visit (e.g.
Lihoreau et al. 2012; Evans & Raine 2014).
Understanding how variation in cognitive traits
might be adapted to different ecological
conditions, and may affect how pollinators
respond to environmental change, are important
ongoing research questions in the Raine lab.
Professor Raine moved to Canada in 2014 to take
up the prestigious Rebanks Family Chair in
Pollinator Conservation at the University of
Guelph. Prospective candidates would be applying
to join a dynamic and growing research team
working on a wide range of pollinator and
pollination topics in the lab and field.
Successful candidates would also be part of the
renowned Ontario Agricultural College, founded in
1874, and with a thriving graduate research community.
There are a number of funded studentships
currently available to join the Raine lab.
Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact
Professor Raine after researching outputs from
his team (see references below) and thinking
about research questions that really interest
them. Applications will be assessed as they
arrive and continue until positions are filled.
If interested in applying, please email your c.v.
(including contact information for references), a
short statement of research interests, and a
1-page covering letter to <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
Representative Publications include:
Baron GL, Raine NE, Brown MJF (2014). Impact of
chronic exposure to a pyrethroid pesticide on
bumblebees and interactions with a trypanosome
parasite. Journal of Applied Ecology 51: 460-469.
Evans LJ, Raine NE (2014). Foraging errors play a
role in resource exploration by bumble bees
(Bombus terrrestris). Journal of Comparative Physiology A 200: 475-484.
Gill RJ, Ramos-Rodriguez O, Raine NE (2012).
Combined pesticide exposure severely affects
individual- and colony-level traits in bees. Nature 491: 105-108.
Lihoreau M, Raine NE, Reynolds AM, Stelzer RJ,
Lim KS, Smith AD, Osborne JL, Chittka L (2012).
Radar tracking and motion-sensitive cameras on
flowers reveal the development of pollinator
multi-destination routes over large spatial scales. PLoS Biology 10: e1001392.
Raine NE, Chittka L (2008). The correlation of
learning speed and natural foraging success in
bumble-bees. Proceedings of the Royal Society
B-Biological Sciences 275: 803-808.
Stanley DA, Garratt MPD, Wickens JB, Wickens VJ,
Potts SG, Raine NE (2015). Neonicotinoid
pesticide exposure impairs crop pollination
services provided by bumblebees. Nature 528: 548-550.
A full list of publications can be found here:
<https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nigel_Raine>https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nigel_Raine
Professor Nigel Raine,
Rebanks Family Chair in Pollinator Conservation,
School of Environmental Sciences,
University of Guelph,
Guelph, Ontario,
Canada N1G 2W1
Tel: ++1 519 824-4120 ext. 52103
Twitter: @NigelERaine
