This project is no longer listed in the FindAPhD database
and may not be available.
Applications are accepted all year round but note that supervisors are asked to nominate their favoured candidates for our studentships competition by Jan 10th 2012
Interested individuals should use the link below to apply online indicating on the form which supervisor they wish to study with and should also email their CV and a one page statement of research interests directly to the supervisor.
Interviews will be held week beginning 6th February 2012
When males compete over access to females dominant individuals tend to gain mating opportunities at the expense of subordinates. Although we therefore expect behavioural traits associated with dominance to be favoured by sexual selection, it is less clear to what extent genetic differences among individuals contribute to behavioural variation. Resolving this question is important because genetic variation is necessary for selection to produce a response. Disentangling the genetic and environmental influences on any trait is therefore an important step towards understanding its evolution. However, for traits expressed during social interactions an interesting complication is that an individual’s phenotype may depend not only on its genes and the environment, but also on genes that it encounters in the environment. This is because behaviours expressed during contests (e.g., aggression) can often depend on the phenotype, and so the genotype, of an opponent. These “Indirect Genetic Effects” are a hidden source of genetic variation that may actually serve to constrain responses to selection.
This project will use a quantitative genetic framework to explore the extent to which behavioural variation among male Soay sheep arises through direct and indirect genetic effects. A student will combine analyses of existing data on traits that are causal (e.g., aggression, size) or consequent (e.g. reproductive success) to contest outcome, with behavioural observations from the annual Soay sheep rut. Note that the field component of the project will require extensive periods to be spent on St Kilda under potentially challenging conditions.
Funding Notes:
This opportunity is only open to UK nationals (or EU students who have been resident in the UK for 3+ years) due to restrictions imposed by the funding body.
References:
A.J. Wilson, M.B. Morrissey, M.J. Adams, C.A. Walling, F.E. Guinness, J.M. Pemberton, T.H. Clutton-Brock, L.E.B. Kruuk (2011). Indirect genetics effects and evolutionary constraint: an analysis of social dominance in red deer, Cervus elaphus. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 24, 772-783.
L.E.B. Kruuk, J. Slate and A.J. Wilson (2008). New answers for old questions: the quantitative genetics of wild animal populations. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 35: 525-548.
Preston, B.T., Stevenson, I.R., Pemberton, J.M., Coltman, D.W. & Wilson, K. (2003) Overt and covert competition in a promiscuous mammal: the importance of weaponry and testes size to male reproductive success. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B. 270: 633-640.