Investiga cómo el cambio climático afecta la dieta del vencejo real en Suiza
🦅 Project Type: Master's thesis research
📍 Location: Switzerland (Biel-Solothurn-Baden-Luzern area)
🏢 Institution: Vogelwarte.ch in collaboration with University of Aberdeen
⏰ Duration: Fieldwork between June-July
Project Description
This project investigates how climate change affects the dietary habits of Alpine swifts by analyzing:
- Composition and biomass of prey provided to nestlings
- Factors influencing diet composition (weather conditions & habitat use)
- Proportion of aquatic vs terrestrial insects in their diet
What You'll Do
- Analyze food boluses brought by parents to their nestlings
- Collect boluses throughout the breeding season
- Study GPS data to understand habitat use patterns
- Test effects of meteorological conditions on prey selection
- Work with statistical analysis in R
Requirements
- Interest in entomology, birds, foraging ecology and animal movement
- Availability for fieldwork in Switzerland during June-July
- Previous fieldwork experience (especially bird handling) is desirable
- Knowledge of R for statistical analysis is desirable
Benefits
- Accommodation provided in the field
- Train travel between field colonies covered
- Supervision by experts from Vogelwarte and University of Aberdeen
- Part of a larger PhD project on carry over effects in Alpine swifts
How to Apply
Contact both supervisors with cover letter and CV
- Pierre Bize: pierre.bize@vogelwarte.ch
- Alexandra Brighten: a.brighten.21@abdn.ac.uk
Additional Information
This master's project is part of a PhD project investigating climate change effects on insectivorous birds. The research focuses on how changes in the proportion of aquatic versus terrestrial insects affect bird demographics, as aquatic insects are particularly rich in essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA).
