Protected areas and wildlife reserves in developing countries maintain biodiversity and can also provide economic help for local communities. However, biodiversity is threatened by spillover of various zoonotic disease from wildlife to domestic animals and vice versa. Zoonotic breakouts threaten the economy, human health, and sustainable biodiversity. The application of remote sensing technology is one method that can be used to determine behaviour and zoonotic disease transmission routes into and from conservation areas, and thereby inform future policy.
The current project provides an interdisciplinary team with expertise in epidemiology, veterinary science, ecology, parasitology and social science, and partners with links to conservation policy and practice, delivering excellent broad training and experience. The project will combine the disciples of movement ecology, wildlife tracking, habitat use, geo-spatial analysis and animal behaviour with parasitology, bacteriology, and disease modelling. There will also be a socio-biology element as data will be collected from local villages on human perceptions and responses to wildlife disease. The student will develop expertise in the deployment and analyses of various animal-borne loggers to determine behaviours and activity-related energy expenditures of wild animals remotely. They will undertake various analyses for assessment of disease and parasite load. Finally, they will engage with communities and be trained in questionnaire surveys to assess the impacts of zoonotic diseases on both agricultural animals and humans and identify deliverable biosecurity measures.
Objectives: (1) Provide data on buffalo population size, demographics, reproduction rate, movement, and activity, thereby informing reserve management and assist in maintenance of ecosystem integrity. This will involve using already-collected data on animal locations (historic camera-trap and VHF location data) as well as deploying animal-borne loggers to collect data on animal movement, behaviour, and activity (e.g., using GPS, accelerometer, and magnetometers). (2) Screen biological samples from buffalo inside the reserve and from agricultural animals outside the reserve to establish the presence and prevalence of pathogens/parasites. This information will allow an assessment of the potential risk of zoonotic disease outbreaks and spill-over into the local communities and livestock surrounding the reserve. (3) Undertake questionnaire surveys of communities surrounding the reserve to understand local people’s concerns of agricultural and zoonotic diseases. (4) Communicate outcomes to a wider audience including local government and NGO enterprises (e.g. stakeholders East Cape Parks and Tourism Agency, University of Fort Hare) as well as popular local and international media (e.g. Africa Geographic, Wildlife Southern African Parks and Reserves, Scientific American, sciencedaily.com, earthtouchnews.com) and scientific journal publications (e.g., Nature, Science, Proceedings of the Royal Society B) in line with current practice.
Duration: 3.5 years full-time (or up to 7 years part-time)
Start Date: October 2023
How to apply: By 1 May 2023 all applications must be submitted online via: https://dap.qub.ac.uk/portal/user/u_login.php (Specify in the funding section that you wish to be considered for UKRI OneZoo funding). Please specify that you are applying for this particular project and name the supervisor.
You must also by 1 May 2023 send the following to [Email Address Removed] (title of the email must include the name of the host institution to which you are applying, e.g. Queen's University Belfast, and the surname of the principal supervisor):
If not successful in being shortlisted for this particular studentship you could be considered for other studentships within the OneZoo program.
It is expected that interviews will be held around the end of May 2023.
General Information:
Our transdisciplinary OneZoo CDT will equip the next generation of world-leading scientists with the skills and insight necessary to tackle current and future zoonotic threats. To design successful, innovative environmental prevention and control strategies, zoonotic drivers need to be understood through an integrated approach. As part of the OneZoo program you will build an in-depth understanding of the connectivity between key drivers of pathogen host shifts, spillover and onward transmission; exploring pathogen, environmental and human societal processes that can promote zoonotic disease and form the basis of integrated solutions. Our award-winning educators and experts in zoonotic diseases and environmental sciences, from Cardiff University, Aberystwyth University, Queen’s University Belfast, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, will work collectively, fostering creation of the OneZoo research community, and empowering students to develop their own training to acquire strong employability skills. This CDT offers an unprecedented level of diversity and transdisciplinarity.
Research within Queen's School of Biological Sciences contributes to the underlying biological mechanisms of life and disease, seeking to deliver new solutions with major economic, societal and environmental impact. Through our research-led teaching, we will inspire and train new generations of researchers, equipping our graduates with the skills and understanding needed to contribute to research, the knowledge-based economy and wider society.
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