The prevalence of eccentricity forcing on evolution and the carbon cycle at University of Oxford on FindAPhD.com

This project is no longer listed on FindAPhD.com and may not be available.

Click here to search FindAPhD.com for PhD studentship opportunities

Prof Ross Rickaby No more applications being accepted Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Oxford United Kingdom Geochemistry Geoscience

Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford

About the Project

Detailed morphological records of coccolithophores over the last 2 million years coupled with whole genome analysis have, for the first time, revealed that there is a strong 400 kyr periodicity to the speciation and evolution of these calcifying algae. There are hints from the geological record that a link between variations in the Earth orbit and speciation events may have been persistent through geological time and leave an imprint on the carbon cycle^3,4,5,6. This project aims to explore the extent to which evolution of photosynthetic organisms on land and in the ocean respond to orbital variations of the Earth around the sun and whether this provides a fundamental pacing to the carbon cycle. Find more information here.

Funding Notes

There is a single ERC-Department studentship available for one of the two projects under Professor Rickaby's supervision. The studentship would be 3 years duration in the first instance, with the possibility of extension to 4 years. It includes fees at the home rate, stipend, travel and research funds, and is available to UK and overseas students; the studentship does not cover the difference between the home and overseas fee rates.
Please only apply via https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate. Do not email us your CV.

References

References & Further Reading
1. Beaufort, L., Bolton, C.T., Sarr, AC. et al. Cyclic evolution of phytoplankton forced by changes in tropical seasonality. Nature 601, 79–84 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021- 04195-7
2. Bendif, E. M., B. Nevado, E. Wong, K. Hagino, I. Probert, J. R. Young, R. E. M. Rickaby and D. A. Filatov, Repeated species radiations in the recent evolution of Gephyrocapsa species, Nature Communications, 10, 4234, 2019
3. Herbert, T. D., A long marine history of carbon cycle modulation by orbitalclimatic changes. PNAS, 94, 8362-8369, 1997.
4. Suchéras-Marx, B., Mattioli, E., Pittet, B., Escarguel, G., Suan. G., Astronomically-paced coccolith size variations during the early Pliensbachian (Early Jurassic). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2010, 295, 281-292, 2010
5. Crampton, J. S. et al., Pacing of Paleozoic macroevolutionary rates by Milankovitch grand cycles, PNAS, 115, 5686-5691, 2018
6. Crampton, J. S. et al. Southern Ocean phytoplankton turnover in response to stepwise Antarctic cooling over the past 15 million years. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 113, 6868–6873 (2016)
7. Rickaby R. E. M., E. Bard, C. Sonzogni, F. Rostek, L. Beaufort, S. Barker, G. Rees. and D. P. Schrag, Coccolith chemistry reveals secular variations in the global ocean carbon cycle? Earth Planet. Sci. Letts. 253, 83-95, 2007
8. DA Filatov, EM Bendif, OA Archontikis, K Hagino, REM Rickaby, The mode of speciation during a recent radiation in open-ocean phytoplankton Current Biology 31 (24), 5439-5449. e5
9. González Lanchas, A. (2021). Estudio de un episodio de alta calcificación del nanoplancton calcáreo durante el MidBrunhes, Pleistoceno (Doctoral thesis, University of Salamanca). http://hdl.handle.net/10366/1 48401

We’ve won a FindAMasters and FindAPhD Postgrad Award!

As a previous winner of a Postgrad Award, our university community has been recognised for their excellence in, and dedication to, postgraduate education. Studying with us means you’ll be part of a supportive environment that has been celebrated for its achievements and positive impact on our postgraduate students.

Find out more