The Department of Biology at Ghent University is seeking to fill a full-time
PhD position vacancy (m/f) on Avian Foodweb Ecology in Fragmented Landscapes
While habitat fragmentation is increasingly recognized as one of the prime
drivers underlying the current global biodiversity crisis, changes in
foodweb dynamics resulting from habitat fragmentation have so far received
scant attention in functional biodiversity studies.
By applying
state-of-the-art tools from ecological, forestry and epidemiological
research disciplines within a unique plot design, biologists, bio-engineers
and wildlife vets of Ghent University aim to fill this gap by scaling up
functional biodiversity research from a classical plot to a landscape level,
and from producer dynamics to predator fitness. The research consortium
that conducts this ambitious, 6 year research program will host 6 PhD
students, each focusing on particular components of the terrestrial food
web.
Project
This PhD project focuses on how tree diversity and the spatial configuration
of broad-leaved forest fragments affect the ecology, health and performance
of a secondary avian predator (great tit, Parus major), and how this shapes
its predatory impact on arthropod populations (herbivore control). Higher
nutritional quality in more diverse forests is thereby predicted to improve
health by facilitating a better development of avian immunity and thereby
reducing disease susceptibility. A highly fragmented habitat, in turn, is
predicted to reduce health through an increase in the use of anthropogenic
(lower quality) food and pathogen exposure at forest boundaries, owing to
increased contact with human habitation. The successful applicant will
implement a variety of field-, aviary- and lab-tools, and will work closely
together with other PhD students, field assistants and postdocs.
Profile
You hold a Master degree in Biology or an equivalent Life Sciences degree,
with a strong background in population and community ecology.
You are an enthusiastic and motivated student who can deal with long hours
in the field, aviary and lab.
You have excellent organizational, writing and presentation skills and are
capable of working both independently and within a multidisciplinary team.
Prior experience with ornithology and/or foodweb ecology is highly
recommended but not restrictive.
Offer
A Ph.D. scholarship for one year (starting between 1 Jan and 1 Feb 2015)
with a three-year extension after positive evaluation.
Enrolment in the Ghent Doctoral School training program that offers various
courses, training programs and conferences within and outside the
university.
Membership of the Terrestrial Ecology Unit, a dynamic research group that
combines field, lab and modelling approaches to study various questions in
ecological and evolutionary research (
<http://www.ecology.ugent.be/terec/index.php>
http://www.ecology.ugent.be/terec/index.php).
Interested?
Please send (i) a detailed curriculum vitae, (ii) a brief statement of your
research interests and motivation for this project (max 250 words), and
(iii) contact information of two referees who can supply letters of
recommendation upon request, as a single PDF file to
<mailto:
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The deadline for application is Friday 14 November 2014, 17 pm; interviews
of short-listed candidates will start soon afterwards.
For more information, contact Luc Lens ( <mailto:
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Luc Lens <
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