Might be of interest.
For YETI
Deepak C K.
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Binoy vv <vvbinoy@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, Dec 11, 2019 at 12:13 PM
Subject: Fwd: [ASAB-MAIL] 3 PhD positions available in behavioural
mechanisms in St Andrews, Scotland
To: YETI <meet.yeti@xxxxxxxxx>
Apply Directly
three PhD projects available within the Mechanisms of Behaviour group (
https://www.moblabgroup.com/) at the University of St Andrews. Full details
available if you click on the urls. Please pass on to people who may be
interested!
Thank you!
*Project 1. Assessing the impact of environmental chemicals on seabird
development and health. *
*Lead supervisor: Professor Karen Spencer, Psychology & Neuroscience,
University of St Andrews; Co-supervisors: Dr Mark Taggart, Environmental
Contamination and Ecological Health laboratory, University of Highlands and
Islands; Dr Liz Humphreys, BTO Scotland.*
Seabirds rate as some of the fastest declining species globally, but the
reasons underlying widespread declines are not fully understood. One
potential driver may be increased exposure to pollution. Since the
mid-1900s, more than 140,000 novel chemicals have been manufactured, and
their ubiquitous use in everyday products has resulted in a cumulative
increase in the rate of release into the global environment. Many of these
environmental chemicals (ECs) exhibit persistence, facilitating
bioaccumulation, particularly in animals feeding at higher trophic levels.
While the distribution of these ECs is heterogeneous, the marine
environment is the major endpoint for many of these chemicals, as
watercourses from all types of environment converge at the coast.
This PhD project aims to understand the effects of exposure to multiple ECs
on seabird development, health and survival by studying the Kittiwake (*Rissa
tridactyla*). Kittiwakes are the UKs most abundant gull species and the UK
hosts approximately 8% of the global population. Despite their ubiquity,
this species has seen a substantial reduction in population size over the
last 30 years. Whilst changes in prey abundance are likely a key driver,
their vulnerability to EC exposure may be exacerbating these effects.
The successful applicant will get the opportunity to learn advanced
analytical techniques that can quantify the concentration of multiple
chemical families, in order to determine EC exposure profiles within a
population (e.g. liquid chromatography (LC-MS/MS) and gas chromatography
with mass spectrometry (GC-MS)). This novel approach will continue as the
student then uses a suite of physiological, behavioural and observational
methodologies to determine changes in physiological functioning and health
in birds during post-natal development (radioimmunoassay, ELISA, immune
function tests). The student will then be able to relate individual EC
exposure profiles to specific health outcomes and utilise a longitudinal
approach to track changes in EC exposure and health with age. Once the
effects of EC exposure have been explored the student will have the
opportunity to design experimental studies, which manipulate the
environment the chick experiences to look at the additive or interactive
effects additional stressors have on the health of these birds. This will
give an insight into the importance of EC exposure across an environmental
quality gradient.
This is funded by the NERC SUPER Doctoral Training program (
https://superdtp.st-andrews.ac.uk/) and is open to all UK/EU students. This
project has direct funding.
Deadline 15th January 2020 - please email kas21@st-andrews to apply.
*Project 2:Pre-natal soundscapes: understanding the functional significance
of embryonic responses to external sounds.*
*Supervisors: Professor Karen Spencer, St Andrews & Professor Simone
Meddle, Roslin Institute.*
This project is part of the EASTBio DTP, and is open to UK/EU citizens.
Full details of how to apply and eligibility can be found at:
https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/eastbio-pre-natal-soundscapes-understanding-the-functional-significance-of-embryonic-responses-to-external-sounds/?p114146
Deadline: 5th January 2020.
*Project 3: Assessing the impacts of anthropogenic soundscapes on cognitive
and behavioural development in birds.*
*Supervisor: Professor Karen Spencer, St Andrews.*
This project is funded internally by the School of Psychology and
Neuroscience and is part of a competitive PhD program. It is open to all
students. Further details on how to apply can be found at:
https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/psychology-neuroscience/prospective/pgr/
The avian egg represents a feat of evolutionary engineering, providing all
the components required for embryonic growth in a self-contained package.
However, producing a package that develops external to the mother also
means that the embryo is regularly exposed to external factors such as
environmental sound. Recent work has shown that avian embryos can not only
hear these sounds but are able to potentially discriminate between sounds
and utilise these as cues in post-natal life. Work in the Mechanisms of
Behaviour group at St Andrews has further suggested that pre-natal
soundscapes can alter the development of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal
axis (HPA) – the physiological system that underpins the response to stress
in vertebrates. Altered HPA axis functioning has been linked to changes in
wellbeing in a wide range of species and we already know that elevated
stress during pre-natal development can have negative health outcomes in
later life and impact on cognitive abilities.
These two PhD projects will investigate the effects of different embryonic
soundscapes on later phenotypes. Project 2 will focus on health and welfare
indicators and Project 3 will focus on behavioural development and
cognition. Both projects will look at these important issues using poultry
and laboratory bird models. There may also be the possibility to extend the
work into avian rehabilitation centres focussing on the effects of
incubation soundscapes on juvenile development and rehabilitation success
for project 2. Please email kas21@st-andrews for further details.
Professor Karen Spencer
School of Psychology and Neuroscience
University of St Andrews
South Street
St Andrews KY16 9JP
++44 (0)1334 462096
https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/da/persons/karen-anne-spencer(f1e13e17-bd11-46de-9f1a-d017977ef864).html
https://www.moblabgroup.com/
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--
Dr V. V. Binoy
Assistant Professor
National Institute of Advanced Studies
Indian Institute of Science Campus
Bangalore - 560 012
Ph : +917829496778
e-mail vvbinoy@xxxxxxxxx; vvbinoy@xxxxxxxxxxx
Website http://social-cognition.weebly.com/
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