Lemurs are critically endangered primates endemic to Madagascar, a biodiversity hotspot facing rapid deforestation and climate change. A fuller understanding of lemur diets and dietary flexibility is critical for lemur conservation efforts in Madagascar and for husbandry efforts in zoos worldwide. However the logistical and temporal demands of wildlife monitoring often preclude the collection of dietary data across populations, species, and environments. Faeces are an obvious target to rapidly reconstruct the diets of wild lemurs across myriad habitats and seasons relative to foodstuff availability.
Biomarkers, carbon-based molecular compounds derived from living organisms, are preserved in the sedimentary rock record and used by geologists to explore past climates and reconstruct terrestrial vegetation and ecosystems. The biomarkers used to probe the geologic past survive millions of years in the rock record because they are resistant to degradation. The same resistance to degradation makes these biomarkers ideally suited to survive digestion and be recovered from faeces or coprolites (fossilized faeces) to reconstruct aspects of animal diets and digestion.
In this project you will interrogate organic biomarkers and DNA in the faeces of captive lemurs from the Duke Lemur Center (DLC). At the DLC, lemurs live in multiacre forested enclosures in which they readily forage on local vegetation. By sampling faeces from captive individuals consuming provisioned or naturally foraged diets, you will determine which dietary aspects can be fingerprinted using faecal biomarkers. You will also have the opportunity work alongside Twycross Zoo staff on projects that are aligned with the Zoo’s conservation objectives, shadowing zoo staff and undertaking a complementary zoo-based project on animal behaviour, conservation, education or sustainability. Covid-19 permitting, research visits to (1) the DLC to undertake a dietary manipulation in captive lemurs and to (2) Madagascar to apply this work to wild lemurs are both possible. International work would occur in conjunction with collaborators from Duke University in the USA and the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar.
Conservation biology could benefit from greater integration of geochemical approaches. The toolkit developed in this project could pave the way for new methods to probe the diets of many other vulnerable species.
How to apply
Applications need to be submitted via the University of Birmingham postgraduate portal by midnight on 11.01.2021. Please first check whether
the primary supervisor is within Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, or in Biosciences, and click on the corresponding PhD program on the application page.
This application should include
• a brief cover letter, CV, and the contact details for at least two referees
• a CENTA application form
• the supervisor and title of the project you are applying for under the Research Information section of the application form.
Referee’s will be invited to submit their references once you submit your application, but we strongly encourage applicants to ensure referees are aware of your submission and expecting a reference request from us. Students are also encouraged to visit and explore the additional information available on the CENTA website.
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