PhD Studentship: Rustling up something to eat: investigating predator-plant interactions as indirect drivers of ecosystem services

Award Summary

100% home fees covered and a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £18,622 (2023/24 UKRI rate) for three years. Research & Training funding of £8,600 will be provided to support the project.

Overview

Invertebrate predators provide ecosystem services (e.g., biocontrol) and disservices (e.g., predation of beneficial insects)1 which influence crop production. Their commensalistic interactions with plants (e.g., shelter, reproduction) indirectly control their impacts, yet we know little about them2. The plants predators use determines the prey, and therefore nutrients, available to them, and nutrients will drive potential prey to interact with these plants3. Whether the presence of predators deters plant visitors, and how the quality of the nutritional reward affects this, could be important for conservation biological control.

Using model systems involving spiders and the plants they commensalistically use2, this project will explore how predator-plant commensalisms drive ecosystem service provision and how nutrients structure these interaction networks3. The project will include training in molecular dietary and eDNA analysis, nutrient analysis and entomological field surveys to construct and analyse merged networks4. Using network approaches to analyse the influence of nutrients on indirect interactions5 and ecosystem services will answer three key questions:

1.   How do predator-plant commensalisms impact ecosystem services?

2.   How do nutrients influence predator-plant commensalisms?

3.   How does predation-nutrition risk-reward trade-off affect plant visitation and fitness?

References:

1. Cuff et al. 2022, Environmental DNA

2. Cuff et al. 2022, Agricultural and Forest Entomology.

3. Cuff, Evans et al. 2022, Authorea.

4. Cuff, Windsor et al. 2022, Methods in Ecology and Evolution.

5. Tavella et al. 2022, Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment.

Number Of Awards

1

Start Date

18/09/2024

Award Duration

3 years

Sponsor

Newcastle University

Supervisors

Dr Jordan Cuff, Newcastle University

Dr Fredric Windsor, Cardiff University

Professor Darren Evans, Newcastle University

Dr Vivek Nityananda, Newcastle University

Eligibility Criteria

You must have, or expect to gain, a minimum 2:1 Honours degree or international equivalent in a subject relevant to the proposed PhD project (e.g., ecology, biology, zoology).

Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in all sub-skills.

The studentship covers fees at the Home rate (UK and EU applicants with pre-settled/settled status and meet the residency criteria). International applicants are welcome to apply but will be required to cover the difference between Home and International fees.

How To Apply

You must apply through the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal 

Once registered select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’.  

Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:  

·        search for the ‘Course Title’ using the programme code: 8020F

·        select ‘PhD Biology (full time)' as the programme of study 

You will then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Details’ section:  

·        a ‘Personal Statement’ (this is a mandatory field) - upload a document or write a statement directly in to the application form  

·        the studentship code SNES269 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field  

·        when prompted for how you are providing your research proposal - select ‘Write Proposal’. You should then type in the title of the research project from this advert. You do not need to upload a research proposal.  

Contact Details

Dr Jordan Cuff ([Email Address Removed])