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Rapid climatic change is already affecting the conservation status of many wild species and will do so to an increasing extent in coming decades. How best to adapt the location, extent and management of nature reserves, protected areas and other conservation interventions to achieve effective conservation through resilient, well-connected populations is an increasingly important objective of conservation science. Climate envelope models of the 20th century distributions of two insectivorous birds endemic or near-endemic to the western Palearctic region, Dartford warbler and Cetti’s warbler, indicate that the expected suitability of the climate for both species has been increasing in Britain throughout the 21st Century and is decreasing in the Iberian Peninsula. These trends are expected to continue, such that Britain would become increasingly important for the global conservation of these species. The project will use existing data on the abundance and distribution of the two species in Britain and Spain to model recent population changes in relation to recent changes in climate and the distribution of potential habitat. This will be combined with the collection and analysis of new finer-scale field data on the interactions between birds, their habitat and climatic conditions. The objective will be to create metapopulation models of the species which accurately describe recent changes in abundance and distribution and can be used to explore the consequences of different conservation strategies to enhance the future spread of the species into regions where climatic conditions are improving and retard the decline of the species where climatic conditions are deteriorating.This studentship, which is co-funded by the Arcadia Foundation and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), will have co-supervisors from the RSPB who will help to ensure that the research is relevant to practical and policy aspects of adapting biodiversity conservation actions to climatic change.
Applicants must have a first degree (2.i or above) or a Masters degree in a relevant subject, and a driving licence.
How to Apply: Completed applications, consisting of a covering statement, CV, academic transcripts and two academic references, should be sent to Alice Nelson (aln25@cam.ac.uk), by the closing date of 7th July 2012. Please indicate who your referees are, and ask them to send their written reference directly to Alice Nelson. It is your responsibility to ensure that they have done this by the application deadline, as incomplete applications will not be considered.
Funding Notes:
The studentship is a Rothschild Scholarship funded by the Arcadia Foundation and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. UK citizens and EU citizens who have been in the country for at least three years are eligible to apply. Full UK/EU tuition and college fees, and maintenance at the prevailing Research Council UK rate (£13,590 in 2012/13), along with an allowance for appropriate research expenses.