Dos plazas de postdoc en un proyecto conjunto centrado en endemismo, cambio climático y colonización

Oferta compartida por Nuria

Two one-year postdoc positions (renewable for a second year) are available in Giorgio Bertorelle and Emiliano Trucchi research groups at the University of Ferrara (Italy) and Marche Polytechnic University (Ancona, Italy), respectively.

Both postdocs will work together on a recently funded project which will be carried out between the two research groups and in collaboration with University of Florence and Tuscia (Italy).

Using as a model an Italian endangered endemic species (the Apennine yellow-bellied toad, Bombina pachypus) that expanded northwards along the peninsula after the last glaciation, and an individual-based spatially explicit simulation model, the main scope of this project is to study the genomic consequences of a successful postglacial expansion inferring the major characteristics of this process and predicting the impact of geographic range expansions over different temporal scales.

The first position (@ Marche Polytechnic University) will be mainly devoted to the analyses of target capture genomic data to estimate differential loss of genetic variation and accumulation of deleterious mutations along the yellow-bellied toad expansion route (i.e., expansion load).

The second position (@ the University of Ferrara) will mainly focus on developing a realistic simulation model (i.e., using SLim) capable of generating genomic patterns compatible with those observed in the real system.

Both postdocs will use the realistic simulation model to understand how the rate of climate change and the velocity of the species in colonising new suitable habitats affect the expansion load and thus the probability of success of the colonisation.

Applicants’ selection will be in November-December 2023 and the ideal starting date will be between January and February 2024. Net salary will be ca.1600 EUR/month (which is in line with the costs of living in small-medium sized towns like Ferrara and Ancona).

Get in touch with Giorgio Bertorelle (ggb@unife.it) and Emiliano Trucchi (e.trucchi@univpm.it) for further information.

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Trabaja como asistente de investigación en mariposas tropicales (¡con estancia en Ecuador incluída!)

Oferta compartida por Nuria

We are looking for a motivated student research assistant to join our project studying neuroanatomy, behaviour and speciation in tropical Heliconius butterflies. The RA will join Richard Merrill’s research group at LMU Munich (https://www.evol.bio.lmu.de/research/index.html), and will work closely with our collaborators at the Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam (Ecuador), the Universidad del Rosario (Colombia), and the University of Bristol (UK).

The position is for 2.5 years, following successful assessments at ~4 and ~10 months. The applicant will be primarily based at LMU in Munich, after a period of 3 to 6 months working in our insectaries in Ecuador, and a possible shorter visit to Bristol. As such, applicants must be prepared to spend considerable time in the tropics, be self-motivated and work well as part of a team. In addition to butterfly breeding and behavioural experiments in the tropics, the work would mostly involve antibody staining, confocal imaging and segmentation of brains. Experience with these techniques would be welcome, but is not required. More important is self motivation, an interest in the evolution of brains and behaviour, good communication and English skills, and the ability to problem solve.

The position would suit someone interested in the evolution of brains and behaviour, with a relevent MSc or bachelors degree, who is considering pursuing a PhD. The successful applicant will work closely with Postdocs in the lab and will contribute to ongoing experiments, but there is scope for independent projects. Depending on available funding, and the right candidate, the position could be extended to allow a PhD project in the future.

LMU is recognized among Europe’s premier academic and research institutions, being consistently ranked among the top Universities worldwide. Within the Division of Evolutionary Biology (http://www.evol.bio.lmu.de), the researcher will be part of vibrant international communities of scientists. In addition, the researcher will join a collaborative and driven community of Heliconius biologists. The working language of the lab and the Division of Evolutionary Biology is English.

The position is funded by an ERC starting grant (The genetic and neural basis of reproductive isolation) awarded to Richard Merrill. The expected salary will be equivalent to that paid at the level of a PhD student (mostly likely EV13 65%, approx. 1750 € after tax and contributions). The successful applicant could start at the earliest from September/October 2022, but this start date could be extended for the right candidate (and might depend on obtaining visas). The position is open to EU and international applicants, assuming they can obtain the necessary work documents.

Further information about the lab can be found https://www.evol.bio.lmu.de/research/merrill/index.html and links within. For relevant publications see below. Informal questions should be directed to Richard Merrill (merrill@bio.lmu.de), Shane Wright (dswright@biologie.uni-muenchen.de) or Lucie Queste (queste@biologie.uni-muenchen.de).

Applications, made up of a *single pdf* including: 

i) A short letter of motivation, 

ii) A current CV (including grades) and 

iii) the names and contact details of two referees, should be sent to Richard Merrill (merrill@bio.lmu.de) with the subject header “HELICONIUS RA” by 31st July 2022. Interviews will be held most likely over zoom in the following 2 weeks.

Relevant publications:
Montgomery, S.H., Rossi, M., McMillan, O. & Merrill, R.M. (2021) Neural divergence and hybrid disruption between ecologically isolated Heliconius butterflies. PNAS 116: e2015102118 LINK <https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2015102118>

Rossi, M., Hausmann, A.E., Thurman, T., Montgomery, S.H., Papa, R., Jiggins, R.D., McMillan, O. & Merrill, R.M.(2020) Visual mate preference evolution during butterfly speciation is linked to neural processing genes. Nature Communications 11: 4763. LINK <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18609-z>

Montgomery, S.H. & Merrill, R.M. (2017) Divergence in brain composition during the early stages of ecological specialisation in Heliconius butterflies. J Evol Biol 30: 571-582 LINK <https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jeb.13027>

Merrill, R.M., Dasmahapatra, K., Davey, J., Dell’Aglio, D., Hanly J.J, Huber B., Jiggins C.D., Joron, M., Kozak K., Llaurens V., Martin S.H., Montgomery S.H., Morris, J., Nadeau N.J., Pinharanda A.L., Rosser N., Thompson M.J., Vanjari, S., Wallbank R.W., Yu, Q. (2015) The diversification of Heliconius butterflies. What
have we learned in 150 years? J Evol Biol 28: 1417-38 LINK <https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jeb.12672>

For more relevant publications from the lab (and before) please see https://richmerrill.wordpress.com/about/.

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Postdoc diferenciando especies de peces vivíparos

Oferta compartida por Nuria

A fully funded post-doctoral scholar position for 2 years will be available after the 1st of June at Prof. Axel Meyer lab to work on DFG funded work related to species delimitation in sympatric and allopatric populations of live-bearing fishes. The project aims at integrating whole-genome resequencing data and phenotypic data to conduct species delimitations applying coalescent-based integrative taxonomic approaches and to validate these by contrasting their outcome to empirically determined degree of reproductive isolation among species pairs. We seek applicants with a background in some of the following areas: evolutionary biology, taxonomy, phylogenetics and field research. We encourage applicants with bioinformatic skills.

The Meyer Lab at the Department of Biology at University of Konstanz, is interested in the origins of adaptations, speciation, and phylogenomics of fishes, in particular the cichlid fish adaptive radiations from Nicaragua and Africa. A total of three research groups two of which are headed by Junior Group Leaders make up the evolutionary biology group (15 members total in the lab).

The University of Konstanz and the Department of Biology are among the most highly ranked institutions in Germany and provide a lively and academically outstanding research environment. Konstanz is a lovely historic town located on Lake Constance on the southern border between Germany and Switzerland. The University of Konstanz and the Department of Biology are among them most highly ranked institutions in Germany and provide a lively and academically outstanding research environment. Konstanz is a lovely historic town located on Lake Constance on the southern border between Germany and Switzerland. Appointments are initially for three years and it comes with a competitive salary, and excellent health and retirement benefits.

Qualifications
Required: PhD in Taxonomy, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology or Genetics/Genomics.
Preferred: Experience working with genomic data, a strong conceptual background in evolutionary biology, experience with field work.

Application Instructions
To Apply Submit the following documents to julian.torres-dowdall@uni-konstanz.de:

• One page Cover Letter
• C.V.
• A relevant publication or manuscript in preparation
• Contact information for 2 References

Applications will be considered until the position is filled.
Informal inquiries about the position are encouraged: julian.torres-dowdall@uni-konstanz.de

The University of Konstanz is an equal opportunity employer and tries to increase the number of women in research and teaching. The University of Konstanz is committed to further the compatibility of work and family life and has onsite child care facilities

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Fantástica oportunidad para hacer el doctorado en Suecia, con un equipo top

Nota de Fernando: Hice parte de mi tesis y un par de postdocs en esta ciudad, y participé como asistente de campo varias temporadas con este equipo en concreto. Esta oferta tiene mi máxima recomendación 👌

PhD student in climate driven speciation

Uppsala University is a comprehensive research-intensive university with a strong international standing. Our ultimate goal is to conduct education and research of the highest quality and relevance to make a long-term difference in society. Our most important assets are all the individuals whose curiosity and dedication make Uppsala University one of Sweden’s most exciting workplaces. Uppsala University has over 45,000 students, more than 7,000 employees and a turnover of around SEK 7 billion.


A PhD student position in climate driven speciation is available at the Department of Ecology and Genetics, Animal Ecology. The Department of Ecology and Genetics is an international environment with staff and students from all over the world. Our research spans from evolutionary ecology and genetics to studies of ecosystems. For more information, see www.ieg.uu.se. Within the program of Animal Ecology, we study the ecological causes of and evolutionary consequences of genetic variation within and between animal species.

Project description: Our group uses a combination of long-term ecological monitoring and genomic approaches in pied and collared flycatchers from a hybrid zone located on the Swedish island Öland to better understand mechanisms of speciation. Divergent climate adaptation is a likely evolutionary route to postzygotic isolation, but evidence showing that climate-driven genetic divergence may lead to hybrid incompatibilities is lacking. In eukaryotic organisms, climate adaptation largely depends on co-evolving mitochondrial and nuclear (mitonuclear) DNA, which together encode the proteins needed to build the biochemical machinery responsible for energy metabolism. The two exciting main goals of this PhD project are to identify specific allelic changes within the networks of mitonuclear units underlying both (1) divergent climate adaptation, and (2) hybrid dysfunction. To achieve these goals detailed ecological studies and field experiments will be integrated with new techniques to measure cellular mitochondrial function directly in the field, and with several state-of the art genomic approaches.

Duties: The successful candidate will conduct field sampling (including both population monitoring and field experiments), measure mitochondrial function in blood samples and perform genomic analysis. The PhD student will work together with a cross-disciplinary supervisor team, have the opportunity to actively shape the detailed development of the project and to drive the writing and publication of the results. Attendance to local seminaries series, advanced relevant courses and international conferences is also expected.

Requirements: To be eligible for this position the applicant must hold a master degree (or equivalent) in ecology, evolution or in closely related disciplines. Candidates must also be able to express themselves fluently in spoken as well as written English. In ranking eligible candidates, special importance will be given to scientific skills. In the assessment of scientific merits, especially analytic skills and the ability to formulate sharp hypothesis and logic arguments will be highly valued. We attach great importance to personal qualities such as that the candidate is highly motivated and with a strong general interest in ecology and evolution.

Additional qualifications: Previous experiences with field ornithology and/or bioinformatics are desired but not required. Previous experiences with practical research projects and statistical/mathematical modelling are highly desired.

Type of employment: Temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. The graduate program covers four years of full-time study. The position can be combined with teaching or other duties at the department (maximum 20%), which prolongs the employment with the corresponding time. The salary will be set according to local agreements. Rules governing PhD candidates are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance Chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala university's rules and guidelines ttp://regler.uu.se/?languageId=1. More information about postgraduate studies at Uppsala University is available at http://www.teknat.uu.se/education/postgraduate/.

Salary: According to local agreement for PhD students.

Starting date: 01-04-2021 or as otherwise agreed.

Type of employment: Temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7.

Scope of employment: 100 %

For further information about the position please contact: Professor Anna Qvarnström, email anna.qvarnstrom@ebc.uu.se, phone number +46 18 471 64 06.

Please submit your application by 4 March 2021, UFV-PA 2021/344.

Are you considering moving to Sweden to work at Uppsala University? If so, you will find a lot of information about working and living in Sweden at www.uu.se/joinus. You are also welcome to contact International Faculty and Staff Services at ifss@uadm.uu.se.


Please do not send offers of recruitment or advertising services.

Submit your application through Uppsala University's recruitment system.

Placement: Department of Ecology and Genetics

Type of employment: Full time , Temporary position longer than 6 months

Pay: Fixed salary

Number of positions: 1

Working hours: 100 %

Town: Uppsala

County: Uppsala län

Country: Sweden

Union representative: ST/TCO tco@fackorg.uu.se
Seko Universitetsklubben seko@uadm.uu.se
Saco-rådet saco@uadm.uu.se


Number of reference: UFV-PA 2021/344

Last application date: 2021-03-04

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Postdoc Position in Adaptation and Speciation (NTNU, Taipei, Taiwan)

A two-year postdoc is available on August 1, 2018 for an innovative and motivated person to work on the adaptation of Pachyrhynchus weevils or the speciation of endemic Psolodesmus damselflies.

Project:

The position is funded by the MOST (Ministry of Science & Technology,
Taiwan) grants focused on testing hypotheses about the adaptation of
aposematic colours in Pachyrhynchus weevils and the process of species
formation in two subspecies of Psolodesmus damselflies.

1. Aposematism of Weevils

Pachyrhynchus weevils are a group of brilliant, metallic-coloured
weevils distributed in the Old World tropics. Recent studies showed
that the conspicuous colouration of these weevils function as effective
warning signals for their hard bodies to prevent predacious pursuit by
lizards. We are interested in studying the adaptation, evolution, and
spatio-temporal dynamics of interactions between vertebrate predators
and aposematic prey using these weevils.

Related articles:

Wang, L-Y., W-S. Huang, H-C. Tang, L-C. Huang and C-P. Lin* (2018) Too
hard to swallow: A secret secondary defence of an aposematic insect.
Journal of Experimental Biology 221.

Tseng, H-Y., W-S. Huang, M-L. Jeng, R.J.T. Villanueva, O.M. Nuneza and
C-P. Lin* (2018) Complex inter-island colonization and peripatric
founder speciation promote diversification of flightless Pachyrhynchus
weevils in the Taiwan-Luzon volcanic belt.

Journal of Biogeography 45: 89-100.

Chen, Y-T., H-Y. Tseng, M-L. Jeng, Y-C. Su, W-S. Huang and C-P. Lin*
(2017) Integrated species delimitation and conservation implications of
an endangered weevil Pachyrhynchus sonani (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)
in Green and Orchid Islands of Taiwan. Systematic Entomology 42:
796-813.

Tseng, H-Y., C-P. Lin*, J-Y Hsu, D.A. Pike and W-S. Huang* (2014) The
functional significance of aposematic signals: geographic variation in
the responses of widespread lizard predators to colourful invertebrate
prey. PLoS ONE 9(3):e91777.

2. Damselfly Speciation

We focus on a damselfly species, Psolodesmus mandarinus, with two
subspecies differ in their distribution and wing pigmentations in
Taiwan. It provides a great opportunity to evaluate the relative
importance of natural and sexual selection in damselfly divergence. The
project will incorporate a wide range of techniques, including a
whole-island field survey, behavioural studies, manipulation
experiments, population genetics and genomic analysis to investigate
the divergence in damselflies.

A description of the research project:

https://sites.google.com/site/yuhsunhsu/research?pli=1

Requirement:

1. The postdoctoral fellow will be responsible for either leading a
hypothesis-driven field/laboratory experiment, or the analyses of
genomic-scale DNA sequence data sets. The applicant is also encouraged
to develop an independent project based on applicant's expertise and
the study systems.

2. The successful applicant must have demonstrated expertise in
behavioral ecology, population genetics, phylogenetics, genomics, or
computational statistics.

3. Preference will be given to candidates with:

(1) Background in behavioral ecology studies, (2) Experience of high
performance computing, (2) The ability to develop and apply statistical
or computational methods to solve biological problems, (3) Expertise in
research on adaptation, speciation, theoretical models of evolution, or
trait divergence.

Application:

To apply, please contact Chung-Ping Lin by email
(treehopper@ntnu.edu.tw), and attach a single PDF file containing: 1) a
cover letter, 2) a CV, 3) a brief 2-page statement of research
interests, and how your skills can contribute to project objectives,
and 4) contact information for three references.

Salary & Deadline:

The position will be available from 2018/08 to 2020/07. Start date is
flexible. Funding is available for at least 2 year with a potential
extension of 3 years, pending on the performance and funding.

A monthly post-doc salary of about $55,000 NTD ($1,900 USD) will be
offered, including retirement plan, health benefits, and a year-ending
bonus of 1.5- month salary. The average living cost in Taiwan is about
1/2 of that in the USA.

The position will remain open until a suitable candidate is found.

More information:

Chung Ping Lin's lab: http://web.ntnu.edu.tw/~treehopper/

Department of Life Science: http://www.biol.ntnu.edu.tw/

National Taiwan Normal University: http://www2.ntnu.edu.tw/en/index.php

Chung-Ping Lin
Department of Life Science
National Taiwan Normal University
Taipei, Taiwan
http://web.ntnu.edu.tw/~treehopper

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Postdoc in cichlid speciation (Belgium)

The Royal Belgian Museum for Natural Sciences is looking for a:

Post doctoral researcher

April 2014 – February 2018

Summary :

The successful candidate will work in the framework of a 4 year project

financed by the Belgian science policy, Belspo. Belspo Brain project:

“Behavioral and genomic aspects of cichlid speciation; GENBAS –

GENetic Basis for Speciation”. The proposal’s two main objectives are

to characterize the genomic differentiation that drives the speciation

process, and to verify whether/and to what extent the same genomic

changes are involved in to maintain the ‘integrity’ of the gene

pools of the resulting sister species.

We intend to address this question through a dual approach: one that

compares the genome wide differentiation within and between sister

species, and one that explores the genetic basis of the behavioural

aspects (display and acoustic signalling during courtship) that allow

female fishes to differentiate between con-specific and hetero-specific

males. For this purpose, we have selected the Lake Tanganyika cichlid

genus Ophthalmotilapia. More specifically, our experimental design

involves the combination of four studies: (1) to explore behavioural

and acoustic aspects of mate pairing during con- and hetero-specific

interactions among species; (2) to investigate differential gene

expression in the female brain associated with pairing behaviour

during con- and hetero-specific interactions; (3) to elucidate genetic

differences within and among relatively recently diverged and hybridizing

species at a genome-wide level; and (4) to examine whether the part of

the genome that is expressed during mate recognition in the brains of the

female cichlids correspond with one or more of the genomic areas with

increased differentiation within or among these species. The project

is a collaboration between Erik Verheyen (RBINS), Jos Snoeks (RMCA),

Jeroen Van Houdt (KULeuven), Eric Parmentier & Pascal Poncin (ULiège).

Tasks :

-          Coordination of the project: organisation of meetings,

           coordinate the different studies of the project partners,

           reporting, keeping time lines

-          Implementation of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) methods:

           Genotyping by Sequencing, RNA sequencing

-          Data-analysis NGS data, Integration of behavioral and

           accoustic data with genomic results

-          Supervision and co-operation with partner researchers,

           students

-          Publication of results

Profile :

Education : PhD in sciences: Biology, Biotechnology, Genomics

Experience : 3-10 years of experience in independent research, experience

in genetic/genomic research

Technical competences :

Experienced in molecular genetics: (Sanger & NGS) sequencing, microsatellites

Experienced in NGS methods and NGS data analysis

Experienced with population genetics and phylogeographic methods

Languages: Dutch and/or French, English

Generic competences :

Independent, people management, project management, coordination,

co-operation, good interpersonal skills, prepared to travel if required

Extra :

Project coordination

Programming skills (perl, python, R, …)

Experience working with fish experiments

Offer:

Full time position (maximum 4 years)

Remuneration according to education and experience

Free public transport (in Belgium) between your place of residence and

the Institute

Application

Send (in a single pdf file) an application letter and your CV with

contact information of two references before March 31st 2014 to:

Erik.verheyen@natuurwetenschappen.be

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Graduate position: ETH Zurich Speciation

Doctoral position available

Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich



In the group Plant Ecological Genetics of the Institute Integrative
Biology, ETH Zürich, is a doctoral position available starting January
1, 2012.

Project title: Mechanisms of pre- and postzygotic isolation in cryptic
Epichloë species

Project description: Speciation is one of the most fundamental processes
in biology that leads to biological diversity. However, the mechanisms of
speciation are variable in different organisms and incompletely known,
particularly in members of Fungi. Epichloë endophytes (Ascomycota,
Clavicipitaceae) with its sexual species offer an ideal model system
on which mechanisms of reproductive isolation, a prerequisite of
speciation, can be studied. The planned research will investigate
several potential pre- and post zygotic isolation mechanisms that may
operate among members of genus Epichloë including a species complex
with several host-associated cryptic species. The project is positioned
at the interface of ecology, genetics and evolutionary biology and will
involve field work as well as greenhouse and lab experiments.

We offer a supportive and stimulating environment within the plant
ecological genetics group on the main campus of ETH Zürich.

We are seeking a highly motivated PhD candidate (3 year funding)
with strong interests in ecological genetics and/or evolutionary
biology. Candidates should have a Diploma or Master's degree in Biology
or Plant Sciences.

Applications should be sent to the address given below (preferably by
e-mail) and should include (1) a letter describing research motivation
and experience,  (2) a CV together with copies of degree certificates
(graduate and undergraduate), and (3) contact details of at least two
scientific referees.

Contact:
Prof. Dr. A. Leuchtmann
Institute of Integrative Biology
Universitaetstrasse 16
CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland
e-mail: adrian.leuchtmann@env.ethz.ch
phone:             +41 44 632 3854     

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