Oportunidad para desarrollar un proyecto en comportamiento migratorio de aves

Oferta compartida por Cristina

PhD opportunity

Unravelling the ontogeny of bird migratory behaviour in a changing world

Deadline for expression of interest: 28 February 2023

Passionate about bird migration and movement ecology? We are looking for a motivated

candidate interested in applying for a FCT grant (Portuguese Foundation for Science and

Technology) to carry out a 4-year PhD focusing on the ontogeny of migratory behaviour. The

candidate will be based in Portugal at CIBIO-Lisbon (https://cibio.up.pt/) - Research Center on

Biodiversity Conservation and Genetic Resources. Fieldwork (GPS tagging, nest monitoring,

etc) can be carried out depending on the candidate interests. We are aiming to find someone

with good analytical skills (particularly in R) and preferably with at least one paper publish (to

increase the chances of getting a scholarship).


To express your interest, please send your CV (including your 1st degree and Master grades
and a short motivation letter to inescatry@gmail.com.



Supervisors

Inês Catry (https://cibio.up.pt/people/details/icatry)

Aldina Franco (https://research-portal.uea.ac.uk/en/persons/aldina-franco).


Project description
Anthropogenic changes are shifting the migration patterns of birds worldwide: species are
changing the migration timings, shortening and diversifying migratory routes, or are even
completely disrupting migration and transitioning towards residency. While human induced
environmental changes are known to have contributed to the observed changes in migratory
behaviour, the mechanisms by which species adapt to these changes remain largely
unknown.


The white stork (Ciconia ciconia) is a long-lived species and an iconic symbol for long-
distance migrations. Since recent decades, however, thousands of storks no longer carry out


their annual autumn migration from Europe to sub-Saharan Africa, remaining in Europe all
year-round. Previous research by our team revealed high consistency in migratory strategy in
adults (either migratory or non-migratory), whilst most tracked juveniles lost their migratory
behaviour throughout development (3-4 years). Thus, the current proposal aims to study the
ontogeny of migratory behaviour in the white stork to unravel the physiological, ecological,
and evolutionary mechanisms behind the shifts in migratory decisions, as well as explore the
carryover effects of different migratory strategies at the individual and population-level.
This PhD project will capitalise on a long-term GPS-tracking study of white storks (>
300 GPS devices combined with 3D-accelerometers deployed, http://whitestork.org/) and


will focus on: (i) disentangle the role of early-life physiological and health constraints on first-
year migratory decisions, (ii) evaluate the influence of ontogenetic individual experience in


subsequent migratory decisions and (iii) investigate life-long time fitness and demographic
consequences of different migratory strategies.
Overall, we will be able to increase the knowledge on the extent to which migrants
can cope with current rates of environmental change, both in the short term and across
generations.


Relevant information on FCT grant application


Information on FCT grants can be found at https://www.fct.pt/en/fct-publicou-o-aviso-de-
abertura-do-concurso-anual-para-bolsas-de-doutoramento/