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Dr T Caruso, Dr J Lennon
No more applications being accepted
Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)
About the Project
Background and significance of research
Our world is facing a biodiversity crisis. An often overlooked part of global biodiversity lies in our soils, yet our understanding of how soil biodiversity is created and maintained is surprisingly incomplete. How can soil biodiversity be so high in an environment that does not apparently offer much environmental heterogeneity? This project will investigate community assembly processes in soil microarthropods, especially collembolans and oribatid mites – the most abundant and diverse animal groups after nematodes in soil. The project will involve analyses of existing data sets and new studies in the field to test model-based hypotheses, offering the opportunity to develop advanced skills in modelling species distributions as a function of environment, intrinsic spatial processes (e.g. dispersal) and biotic interaction among species. At the same time, the project also offers the unique opportunity of developing great expertise in the ecology, biology and taxonomy of key soil animal groups. The project will be carried out in the framework of the Marie Curie CIG grant SENSE (Structure and Ecological Niche in the Soil Environment), which will support the successful applicant with state-of-the-art equipment, while also providing the opportunity of networking with research groups in the UK (e.g. Manchester) and Europe (Berlin).
Research aims
Testing community assembly theories (e.g. neutral vs. niche theories) in soil animal assemblages; developing multispecies distribution models that take into account the simultaneous effect of environment, population spatial processes (dispersal), and biotic interactions; Using tools such as stable isotopes to define assemblages of species potentially competing for resources; Developing trait-based analysis to shed light on factors contributing to species coexistence.
Our world is facing a biodiversity crisis. An often overlooked part of global biodiversity lies in our soils, yet our understanding of how soil biodiversity is created and maintained is surprisingly incomplete. How can soil biodiversity be so high in an environment that does not apparently offer much environmental heterogeneity? This project will investigate community assembly processes in soil microarthropods, especially collembolans and oribatid mites – the most abundant and diverse animal groups after nematodes in soil. The project will involve analyses of existing data sets and new studies in the field to test model-based hypotheses, offering the opportunity to develop advanced skills in modelling species distributions as a function of environment, intrinsic spatial processes (e.g. dispersal) and biotic interaction among species. At the same time, the project also offers the unique opportunity of developing great expertise in the ecology, biology and taxonomy of key soil animal groups. The project will be carried out in the framework of the Marie Curie CIG grant SENSE (Structure and Ecological Niche in the Soil Environment), which will support the successful applicant with state-of-the-art equipment, while also providing the opportunity of networking with research groups in the UK (e.g. Manchester) and Europe (Berlin).
Research aims
Testing community assembly theories (e.g. neutral vs. niche theories) in soil animal assemblages; developing multispecies distribution models that take into account the simultaneous effect of environment, population spatial processes (dispersal), and biotic interactions; Using tools such as stable isotopes to define assemblages of species potentially competing for resources; Developing trait-based analysis to shed light on factors contributing to species coexistence.
Funding Notes
This research project is in competition for funding with other projects offered by the School. The projects which receive the best applicants will be awarded funding from DEL (Department for Employment and Learning). If you are resident in the UK or elsewhere in the EU, it is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that you refer to the terms and conditions of DEL postgraduate studentships (http://go.qub.ac.uk/delterms) to ascertain whether you are eligible for a studentship covering fees and maintenance or a studentship covering fees only. Please note that non-EU residents are NOT ELIGIBLE for DEL studentships.
