Dr Francis Daunt, Dr John Green
No more applications being accepted
Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)
About the Project
Many animal species are experiencing marked declines in population size due to climate change and other human-related drivers. These declines are underpinned by changes to demographic rates of individual members of these populations. Individuals may be affected directly (“lethal effects” e.g. mortality from pollution events) or indirectly via alterations to energetic budgets (“sub-lethal effects” e.g. due to a reduction in habitat quality). Variation in individual responses to these effects determine the overall population-level responses to anthropogenic change. However, current understanding of these processes is limited because the extent of individual variation and the interactions between lethal and sub-lethal effects have rarely been quantified.
This studentship will quantify these interactions in UK seabirds that have experienced marked declines in recent decades and are affected by climate change and marine activities such as fisheries and offshore renewable energy. The limitations of current evidence have restricted our understanding of the causes of these declines and of predicted changes in the future, and have resulted in precautionary risk assessments of offshore developments. The student will develop new insights on the population dynamic consequences of human-related environmental change through analysis of existing long-term data and new data collected during the project, to address the following questions: a) how do individuals vary in their behavioural, energetic and demographic responses? b) what is the interaction between lethal and sub-lethal effects of human activities on demography? c) to what extent do these effects vary at different times of the year and with environmental conditions? Addressing these questions will ensure that the student is undertaking novel and timely research on key processes underpinning the effects of anthropogenic change on protected species.
The student will be based at CEH Edinburgh as part of the Ecological and Socio-ecological Interactions Group. The project will provide training in field techniques, analysis of long-term, individual-based data sets and stakeholder engagement ensuring a broad skills base. The student will be co-supervised by Liverpool University and attend the postgraduate training programme provided by CEH, Liverpool University and other partner universities within the ACCE DTP. This programme includes a “Careers and Communication Portfolio” in which the student will devote six weeks during their PhD on activities outside their scientific subject area including environmental policy, management, media, commercialisation and public outreach.
Applicants must have obtained, or be about to obtain, a 2.1 degree or higher. If you have a 2.2 degree, but have also obtained a masters qualification, you are also eligible. Substantial relevant post-graduate experience may also be sufficient, please contact the supervisors for more information.
To apply please send your CV and a covering letter stating your suitability for the project to the lead project supervisor Dr F. Daunt ([Email Address Removed]).
Funding Notes
This project is one of a number of proposed topics that are in competition for funding from the NERC ACCE Doctoral Training Partnership https://acce.shef.ac.uk/. Commencing in autumn 2018 if successful.
Full studentships (fees and stipend) are only available to UK nationals and other EU nationals that have resided in the UK for three years prior to commencing the studentship. If you are a citizen of an EU member state you will eligible for a fees-only award, and must be able to show at interview that you can support yourself for the duration of the studentship at the RCUK level.