 |
IUSSI North-west European section
International Union for the Study of Social Insects |
| who's where | vacancies | INSECTSmail |
Vacancies
|
IUSSI North-west European section
International Union for the Study of Social Insects |
| who's where | vacancies | INSECTSmail |
Vacancies
Here you will find details of social insect related job vacancies, studentships and grants currently available. If you have any social insect related vacancies that you would like to have advertised here, please e-mail to INSECTS@bio.ku.dk. All advertisements must include either a closing date for applications, or a date on which they may be removed from the web site. This page was last modified on Sunday, December 15, 2024
Postdoc: Cuticular hydrocarbons of harvester ants, Stanford University, USA
PhD: Brain evolution and comparative anatomy across bumblebee species: Durham University, UK
4 PhD positions: Ant architecture & disease signalling, Bristol
PhD: the impact of wood ants on woodland communities, York & Cambridge
MSc by Research: Assessing the conservation status of wood ants across Europe, York
Postdoc: Cuticular hydrocarbons of harvester ants, Stanford University, USA
Position open until filled, but interviews have started, so apply soon!
POSTDOCTORAL POSITION Stanford University, Department of Biology
We are excited to announce an opening for a postdoctoral researcher position to work on a newly NSF-funded project, a collaboration between Deborah Gordon (Stanford) and Florian Menzel (University of Mainz, Germany) on variation among harvester ant colonies in the waterproofing capacity of their cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs), and how the CHCs are related to the collective regulation of foraging behavior to manage the risk of water loss.
The position will be based in Deborah Gordon's lab in the Department of Biology, Stanford University (http://www.stanford.edu/~dmgordon/).
Qualifications:
The position requires a motivated and self-directed scientist who is independent, conscientious, with a strong background in reproducible research including statistical analysis, and has excellent written and oral communication skills. Applicants should have research experience in chemical ecology, preferably in CHCs, involving both field and laboratory work on insect behavior, and a strong publication record in peer-reviewed journals.Application Instructions:
Candidates are required to hold a PhD before their start date. The start date is flexible. Review of applications will begin immediately and the position will remain open until filled. Applicants should submit their CV, statement of research interests, and the names and contact information of three references. Inquiries about the position should be sent to Deborah Gordon (dmgordon@stanford.edu).Posted 4/12/2024
PhD: Brain evolution and comparative anatomy across bumblebee species: Durham University, UK
Deadline for applications: 6 / 31 December 2024
Full project description: https://iapetus2.ac.uk/studentships/brain-evolution-and-comparative-anatomy-across-bumblebee-species/
Bumblebees are agriculturally important pollinators, but are currently declining in abundance in the UK and around the world. Understanding these declines requires research on bee biology and physiology. So far the bumblebee nervous system has been extensively studied only in the species that may be purchased commercially and kept in a laboratory: Bombus terrestris and Bombus impatiens. The aim of this project is to investigate brain anatomy of 7 closely-related bumblebees from the North-East of England, together with the degree of plasticity and factors that may affect it: nutrition, climate, flower diversity and availability, bee tasks in the nest, etc.
Interested non-UK applicants should contact Dr Olena Riabinina (olena.riabinina@durham.ac.uk) by the 6th of December with their CV and Cover/Motivation letter.
Interested UK applicants should contact Dr Olena Riabinina (olena.riabinina@durham.ac.uk) by the 31st of December with their CV and Cover/Motivation letter.Posted 30/11/2024
4 PhD positions: Ant architecture & disease signalling, Bristol
Application deadlines 6 & 13 January 2025
Dear colleagues,
I am currently looking for candidates for four competitively-funded PhD scholarships in my lab at the University of Bristol, UK (see below), all starting in September 2025.
The principle of competitively-funded scholarships is that there is a set number of scholarships available at the whole School (project 1) / Faculty (projects 2 and 4) / regional network (project 3 and 5). Candidates select the research project and host lab they are most interested in at the time of application, then the best candidates are selected for funding independently of their chosen host/project.
All four scholarships are fully-funded including tuition fees, an annual stipend set according to the UKRI recommendations, and research costs. Some of the scholarships are available for 3.5 years and some for 4 years and eligibility criteria vary (see details below).
I would be very grateful if you could circulate this widely to your networks and to likely candidates!
Many thanks in advance,Nathalie Stroeymeyt
Host: Stroeymeyt lab, University of Bristol
Project 1: Synergies between nest architecture and division of labour in ant colonies; see link here
School of Biological Science scholarship
4-year PhD, for UK and international students.
Application deadline: Monday, January 06, 2025Project 2: Architectural immunity in ants; see link here
Faculty Strategic Scholarship
4-year PhD, for UK and international students.
Application deadline: Monday, January 06, 2025
Project 3: Responsive building by social insects: how do ants reshape their nest architecture in response to the environment?; see link here
NERC GW4+ DLTP Scholarship
3.5-year PhD, for UK students.
Application deadline: Monday, January 13, 2025
Project 4: Disease signalling in insect societies; see link here
Ring-fenced Faculty Scholarship for Students of Black Heritage
4-year PhD, for UK-domiciled, home fee applicants of Black African, Black Caribbean or other Black or mixed Black heritage.
Application deadline: Monday, January 06, 2025Posted 4/12/2024
PhD: the impact of wood ants on woodland communities, York & Cambridge
Appplication deadline: 8 January 2025
PhD project: Translocating an ecosystem engineer: the impact of wood ants on woodland communities
Supervisory team: Prof Elva Robinson - University of York, Hayley Dauben - Forestry England and Dr Adria LeBoeuf - University of Cambridge
Project
The restoration of complete functioning ecosystems can be facilitated by species translocations. Priority candidates for translocations are species that play key roles in ecosystem function and are poor dispersers, and thus are unlikely to arrive naturally. The northern hairy wood ant, Formica lugubris, meets both these criteria. In the UK, this species disperses primarily through local nest budding and is an ecosystem engineer, increasing environmental heterogeneity and shaping the invertebrate, plant and microbial communities in the woodlands that it inhabits.A recent habitat suitability modelling exercise found that substantial areas of England’s forests are suitable habitat for F. lugubris but are unoccupied by wood ants, and out of reach for natural colonization. Ennerdale, Cumbria, was identified as a suitable recipient site, and a translocation will be implemented in 2025. Nests will be moved using two methods, control plots have been established and pre-translocation invertebrate surveys are underway. This provides a unique opportunity to generate an evidence-base for future translocations while also improving our understanding of wood ants’ role within a woodland ecosystem.
Objectives
To understand the role of wood ant translocation in shaping woodland ecosystem functions. Specifically to:
The fieldwork will be carried out at the translocation site, Ennerdale, Cumbria and two comparator sites undergoing population expansion, Cropton, Yorkshire (the translocation donor site) and Longshaw, Derbyshire.
More information on the project is available at https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/acce-dla-programme-translocating-an-ecosystem-engineer-the-impact-of-wood-ants-on-woodland-communities/?p178907
This project is part of the ACCE+ Doctoral Landscape Award.
Deadline Wednesday, January 08, 2025. Please see the ACCE+ DLA website (https://accedtp.ac.uk/how-to-apply/) for all details of eligibility and how to apply.
Posted 4/12/2024
Postdoc: Deciphering social communication in stress-tolerant honeybees, University of California, Riverside
Position is open until filled
We have an opening for a postdoctoral researcher interested to work at the Center for Integrative Bee Research (CIBER, see https://ciber.ucr.edu) at the University of California, Riverside on a project recently funded by the W. M. Keck Foundation: Deciphering social communication in stress-tolerant honeybees. The postdoc will be responsible for generating transgenic bees, performing behavioral assays, bee husbandry, and 2-photon calcium imaging in bees in response to odor presentations, working both in the lab and outdoors.
Applicants should have a strong background in insect neuroscience and/or genetics. In particular, candidates with experience in multiphoton imaging and CRISPR are encouraged to apply. Beekeeping experience is not required; however, the postdoc should be open to work with our apiary manager to care for bees outdoors. Prospective postdoctoral researchers should contact Ysabel Giraldo (ysabel.giraldo@ucr.edu) and provide an updated CV, statement of intent, and contact information for three references. Applications will be reviewed as received until the position is filled. Postdoctoral researchers will be supported for a minimum of 1 year with possibility of renewal for two more years. Salary is commensurate with experience and a benefit package (full medical) is included.
UC Riverside is one of the ten campuses in the prestigious University of California system. The UCR Department of Entomology has been ranked No. 2 worldwide by the Center for World Universities (April 2017) and No. 1 by the U.S. National Research Council. UC Riverside is centrally located in southern California about 40 miles east of Los Angeles and 75 miles north of San Diego. Riverside was recently named one of America's top ten Most Livable Communities. The Pacific Ocean, San Bernardino Mountains, ski areas, and deserts are located within an hour drive.
Posted 30/11/2024
MSc by Research: Assessing the conservation status of wood ants across Europe, York
Application deadline: 16 May 2025
Background
Wood ants are ecosystem engineers, increasing biodiversity in the woodlands where they occur. They are also both habitat specialists, and poor dispersers, making them vulnerable to woodland fragmentation. IUCN Red Listing assesses the level of threat faced by a species, providing evidenced information about their range, habitat, ecology and trajectory, to enable informed conservation policy. A subset of wood ant species were Red List assessed in 1996; other wood ant species have never been assessed. There is therefore a pressing need for up-to-date and complete Red List assessments for this group.
Objectives
1. To collate and evaluate current and historic data on wood ant distributions across their range
2. To carry out Red List assessments for wood ant species based on these datasets.
Methodology
This project will involve both collating and evaluating existing published data, and also working with newly collected datasets on wood ant distributions. The new data are being collected as part of the European-wide project MonitAnt, and it will thus be possible for data gaps to be identified and targeted as part of the integration between the Red List assessment process and the data collection.
Impact
The outcome of this project will be Red List assessments for wood ant species, which will identify the level of threat these species are facing, and will help inform woodland management and conservation decisions for these keystone species.
Project Partners
This project will be supervised by Professor Elva Robinson, University of York. The MonitAnt Team (https://www.biodiversa.eu/2024/04/15/monitant/) will support the project with data and expertise from across Europe. The project will also be supported by the IUCN’s Ant Specialist Group Coordinator Gabrielle Flinn.
More information: Deadline 16th May 2025. To discuss suitability for the project, contact elva.robinson@york.ac.ukPosted 4/12/2024
Vacancies will be advertised on this page until the closing date for applications, or, where no firm closing date is given, for a maximum of 3 months.
If a position has been filled in the meantime, please let the webmaster know.
This site is maintained and promoted on the Internet by David Nash. email to: DRNash @ bio.ku.dk
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