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PhD position at Université Paris 13, Laboratorie d'Ethologie
Expérimentale et Comparée E.A. 4443, France
Evolutionary transition between hermaphroditism and separate sexes
Application deadline: 25 May 2015
Sex is a central topic in biology and it is often associated to male and
female genders. But why males and females are so common in animals? And
if there has been some selective advantage in evolving male and female
genders, why is hermaphroditism almost ubiquitous among animal taxa
and why are there more than 65000 species of hermaphroditic species in
animals? Have males and females evolved from hermaphrodites or vice
versa? Whereas other questions in the evolution of sex have been the
focus of theoretical and empirical research in animals (e.g., sexual
selection, the transition between sexual and asexual reproduction, etc.),
the transition between hermaphroditism and separate sexes has been rarely
explored and we are left with many unsolved questions. This PhD project
plan to meet this goal using polychaete worms of the genus Ophryotrocha as
biological models and testing the role of hermaphrodite behavioral traits
(such as reciprocity and plastic sex allocation) and gonochoric behavioral
traits (such as gender specialization) in stabilizing hermaphroditism
and/or favoring the transition towards separate sexes.
The project requires doing behavioral experiments where worms are
exposed to different conditions (e.g., density and/or mate competition)
and/or used in choice tests; data on their mating behavior and mate
preferences as well as measures of their reproductive investment will
be analysed. Most experiments require working at the stereomicroscope.
Bibliographic references
Lorenzi M.C., Sella G. 2013. In between breeding systems: Neither dioecy
nor androdioecy explains sexual polymorphism in functionally dioecious
worms. Integrative and Comparative Biology 53:689-700.
Weeks S.C. 2012. The role of androdioecy and gynodioecy in mediating
evolutionary transitions between dioecy and hermaphroditism in the
animalia. Evolution 66:3670-86.
The language in the lab will be French and English. The position is
funded for 3 years and will start on Oct 1st 2015.
Applications for this position should be sent to Prof. Dr. M. Cristina
Lorenzi (
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) by May 25, 2015,
including: letter of interest, CV, proposed research plan and
recommendation letters from previous supervisors. Applicants are encouraged
to make an informal enquiry beforehand by contacting Prof. Dr. M. Cristina
Lorenzi via email ASAP. For further information about the Laboratoire
d'Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée see http://leec.univ-p=
aris13.fr
Maria Cristina Lorenzi
LEEC-Laboratoire d'Ethologie Experimentale et Comparee
Universite Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cite
99 avenue J.-B. Clement
93430 Villetaneuse, France
Phone: +33(0)149403196
Email:
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Dept. Life Sciences and Systems Biology
Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Torino, Italy
Phone: +39 011 670 4512
E-mail:
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Maria Cristina Lorenzi <
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