Funded PhD Studentship: DTC BIO 1 - Animal colouration in 3-D: investigating the role of visual signalling in the origin and diversity of species

Swansea University is a UK top 30 institution for research excellence (Research Excellence Framework 2014), and has been named Welsh University of the Year 2017 by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide.

Swansea Science DTC is a community committed to undertaking world-class research that has a positive impact globally and we have a fully-funded PhD scholarship for 2017/2018 entry.

The diverse aquatic and terrestrial habitats on the nearby Gower Peninsula and Brecon Beacons make Swansea an excellent place to study Biosciences. In the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF) in 2014, 94% of the Department of Biosciences’ research was judged to be world leading or internationally excellent.

The Department of Biosciences provides state-of-the-art facilities including: our coastal research vessel the RV Noctiluca, a new £4.2 million suite of laboratories, the Zoology Museum, greenhouses, growth rooms, aquaria and £2 million Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research (CSAR) as well as our unique £1.35 million Swansea Lab for Animal Movement (SLAM) visualisation and tag construction facilities.

Description of Project:

Animal colouration is normally measured on isolated patches, but its real-world utility is likely based on overall form. The successful student will use an efficient 3-D scanning pipeline to collect accurate whole-body measurements of appearance from museum specimens. They will then implement software solutions to analyse three dimensional data, and use this to investigate the role of visual signalling in the origin and diversity of species. The project is at the interface of evolutionary biology and computer graphics, and would suit a student with a background in either who is keen to develop interdisciplinary expertise.