NERC studentship

*Prestigious NERC funded studentship. Genetic pedigrees and individual trait variability:Ecological and evolutionary consequences for wild fish populations.* Recent advances in genetic data analysis have provided the tools so that evolutionary processes in wild populations can be inferred from molecular data. Molecular based pedigrees can be used to estimate reproductive success of individuals or phenotypes and for quantitative genetic analysis. The resulting information on heritability of ecologically significant life history traits or behaviours is crucial in accurately predicting responses to selection and is therefore a key element of evolutionary models. Here we will use sophisticated maximum-likelihood and Bayesian approaches for parentage analysis (e.g. molecular pedigree reconstruction) to produce field based heritability estimates. Important aspects of population structure such as geographic or behavioural barriers to migration to gene flow between subpopulations and the effective population size, can be inferred from these molecular data and as such provide both a framework for understanding micro-evolutionary processes and key information for the validation of evolutionary models. In this PhD, we will use a riverine pike Esox lucius population from the River Frome as a model for our predictions. The River Frome is a chalk stream with a total length of approximately 15km where pike are present. Since no freshwater connections exist to other river catchments it constitutes a closed system regarding non-migratory freshwater fish populations. The core investigation area covers approximately 4km of river length (33% of the available pike habitat) including seven discrete spawning sites. Data on growth, diet and sampling location are available for a large proportion of E. Lucius, whose population has been studied on the river since 1976. These data have enabled quantitative measures to be made of population changes in terms of abundance, age structure, mortality, individual growth and diet, but a collection of tissue material also provide the opportunity to obtain genetic data and link them on individual life-history traits, providing an important temporal component for the project. Application deadline 15th of July Contact Prof. Rudy Gozlan Prof. Rodolphe Gozlan FSB Head of Academic Group Conservation Ecology & Environmental Sciences Professor in Conservation Ecology Asst. Editor Journal of Fish Biology Assoc. Editor Aquatic Invasion School of Applied Sciences Bournemouth University Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow Poole, Dorset BH12 5BB Tel: +44 (0)1202966780 Email: rgozlan@bournemouth.ac.uk