Spatiotemporal variation in New Zealand microscopic communities Fully-funded PhD project at Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.
Value and tenure: The annual value of the scholarship is NZ $25,000 for up to three years plus PhD fees over this period. Stipend payments are exempt from tax at source. Team: Our team is a multi-disciplinary group with interests in ecology, microbiology and evolution Associate Professor Hannah Buckley (community ecology) – Auckland University of Technology (AUT) Dr Gavin Lear (microbial ecology) – University of Auckland (University of Auckland) Associate Professor Thomas Buckley (systematics) – University of Auckland and Landcare Research Project aim: To examine the use of microscopic communities and environmental DNA techniques to quantify spatiotemporal variation in New Zealand’s biological diversity at a country scale. This project is funded by New Zealand’s Biological Heritage National Science Challenge (http://www.biologicalheritage.nz/). Description: Microscopic organisms such as bacteria, fungi and micro-invertebrates are proposed to be useful indicators of global ecological change because of their small size, short generation times and responsiveness to environmental perturbation. In addition, these taxa are essential in maintaining key ecosystem functions and services, such as nutrient cycling. Our ability to use DNA and other methods to measure certain aspects of these unseen biological communities in soil and water now allow us to test whether these organisms can be used as routine indicators of ‘ecosystem health’ and, therefore, to predict ecological and evolutionary change in ecosystems, even over relatively short time scales. However, the development and evaluation of methods for the appropriate use of these communities as indicators at a national scale has yet been achieved. Possible questions: 1. How reliably can we measure microscopic species’ presence, abundance, richness and community composition? There is likely to be significant uncertainty in our ability to detect and measure relative abundances consistently across taxa, habitats, and spatial scales. Such variation creates limits and biases, which must be accounted for in the development and use of microscopic community indicators. 2. At what spatial and temporal scales do these microscopic communities vary? If fine-scale spatial variability is higher than temporal variability, this would pose significant problems for studies aiming to measure environmental change through time. Again, this is likely to vary across taxa, habitats and scales. Our knowledge of these patterns and processes for macroscopic communities, e.g., plants and invertebrates, informs our predictions regarding scaling and uncertainty in taxon detection for these microscopic communities, where understanding is still developing. 3. How do past communities, i.e., dead microscopic organisms, influence the perceived composition of present day communities as assessed using environmental DNA? Qualifications: We are looking for an enthusiastic PhD candidate with a strong academic background who has interests in spatial scaling of biodiversity and ecological modelling. Excellent writing skills, a good understanding of ecological sampling, and some experience with statistics and R programming would be ideal. The student will work collaboratively with scientists and end-users currently engaged in the Biological Heritage National Science Challenge. For instance, the NZ’s Department of Conservation and regional councils are interested in the measurement and monitoring of biodiversity with these methods and existing data sets will be used where possible to avoid duplication of effort. The student will also interact with other post-graduate students at AUT and the University of Auckland involved in a wide range of ecological research. Location: Auckland University of Technology, School of Science, City Campus. Auckland, the “City of Sails”, is a vibrant city of 1.4 million and is a top tourist destination globally. For those interested in a real experience “down under”, with a multitude of recreational opportunities, ranging from hiking, to boating, to wine tours, New Zealand is a perfect place to do your PhD! Biologically, New Zealand is a biodiversity hotspot, and home to a globally-significant flora and fauna found nowhere else in the world. To apply: http://www.aut.ac.nz/study-at-aut/fees-scholarships-and-finance/scholarships/scholarships-and-awards/detailpage?detailCode=501148&sessionID=67155&sourceIP=&X_FORWARDED_FOR= Hannah Buckley, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Ecology School of Science Auckland University of Technology Room WU101A, WU building Private Bag 92006 Auckland 1142 New Zealand p + 64 9 921 9999 x 5041 | e [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> | w http://www.aut.ac.nz/profiles/hannah-buckley | w Google Scholar<https://scholar.google.co.nz/citations?user=QV5gcrcAAAAJ&hl=en>
