Research Degree Studentship

Please advertise this to any students you think may be interested;
note that the bursary only covers fees for UK/EU students. Students
from other parts of the world would have to top-up the fees from their
own resources.

£12,500 per annum (plus £3000 research expenses budget) and tuition
fees (UK/EU) for 3 years


The University of Northampton invites applications for the Finnis
Scott Studentship, a PhD research project investigating factors
affecting the conservation of pollinating insects in the English
countryside.


The successful applicant will be based in the Landscape and
Biodiversity Research Group of the School of Applied Sciences, but
will be collaborating with the Division of History in the School of
Social Sciences. The supervisors for the project are Dr Jeff Ollerton
and Professor Jon Stobart.


Insects such as bees, flies and butterflies provide an essential
ecosystem service by pollinating crops and wild plants. However there
is growing evidence that pollinator numbers have declined
significantly due to rapid environmental change, particularly habitat
loss, intensive agriculture and climate change. This Doctoral
research project will study pollinator diversity in the gardens of
large English country houses and relate this to both the horticultural
continuity of those gardens and factors such as the availability of
suitable habitats in the surrounding landscape. Although the main
focus of the research is ecological, it will take an explicitly
cross-disciplinary approach involving both examination of garden
records, such as planting schemes in historical archives, and
ecological surveys of insects in the gardens. Therefore in addition
to having an ecological/environmental background, the successful
applicant will have a strong interest in British history.


The funding for this project has been awarded by The Finnis Scott
Foundation, a Northamptonshire based charitable trust that supports
research in the area of horticulture and plant sciences. The
Foundation commemorates the lives of Sir David Scott, K.C.M.G.,
O.B.E., (1887-1986) and his wife, Valerie Finnis V.M.H. (1924-2006).


Applicants should possess a good Honours or Masters Degree in the area
of ecology, biology or geography. Due to the significant amount of
field work involved, a full, clean UK driving licence is essential.



Deadline for applications: 10.00 am on October 30th, 2009



It is intended that interviews will be held on the 11th November, 2009



Start date: 4th January 2009 or to be negotiated thereafter, but must
be prior to the induction programme which will be delivered in
February 2010.



For an application pack, please email: david.watson@northampton.ac.uk
or call 01604 892812.



More information about the Landscape and Biodiversity Research Group
can be found at:



http://oldweb.northampton.ac.uk/aps/env/lbrg



Additional informal enquiries can be made to jeff.ollerton@northampton.ac.uk



Please quote reference: UN09FINNIS