Oferta compartida por Cristina
PhD position in Thermal Ecology of Amphibians
Project description:
The ongoing climate change is among the key stressors shaping biological communities worldwide. Freshwater habitats are particularly vulnerable as they are often fragmented within the terrestrial landscape and inhabited by organisms with a limited ability to escape. Thus, the stability and diversity of freshwater communities largely rely on individual ability to adapt or acclimate to new conditions. Understanding how freshwater ectothermscope with a warming world requires comprehensive studies of individual phenotypic responses to variable and often unpredictable thermal variation that will pave way for more realistic predictions of the ecological responses
to climate change and their impacts on populations and communities. We aim to assess and integrate the strategies used by amphibians to cope with a warming climate, focusing on their responses to predictable and stochastic temperature variation, using the thermal reaction norm approach. We will combine laboratory and mesocosm experiments to extend the existing framework and incorporate the complexity of ectotherm phenotypic responses to thermal changes.
About us:
The Thermal Ecology Group works at the Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences (www.ivb.cz/en). We study thermal adaptation in its broadest sense by applying interdisciplinary research to understand complex strategies of ectothermic organisms to change environmental temperatures for 20 years. Our results have important implications for basic research and for predicting the impact of climate change on the population dynamics of amphibians.
Student qualifications:
The project is suitable for an enthusiastic, independent student who has obtained a master’s degree in any biology field. Good communication skills in English and previous experience with amphibians are welcomed.
PhD study:
The student will enrol in the doctoral program „Ecology and Evolutionary Biology” at the Faculty of Sciences at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. The student will be eligible for state scholarship for 4 years, and will also be employed on the supervisor’s project and will receive additional payment. Other scholarship possibilities exist.
How to apply:
All interested candidates are invited to contact Assoc. Prof. Lumír Gvoždík to discuss the details of this topic. Candidates from any country are welcome.
The deadline for applications is the 10th of March 2022.
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Lumír Gvoždík
gvozdik@ivb.cz
