Funded PhD Studentship: Primate Socioendocrinology Revisited: New Tools to Tackle Old Questions

All UK vacanciesPhDFunded PhD Studentship: Primate Socioendocrinology Revisited: New Tools to Tackle Old Questions

Psychology,Biological Sciences,Biology,Zoology,Other Biological Sciences,Mathematics and Statistics,Statistics,Social Sciences and Social Care,Sociology,Other Social Sciences

Short info about job

Company: Swansea University

Department: Biosciences

Hours: Full Time

Type / Role: PhD

Phone: +44-1464 3390899

Fax: +44-1204 7999389

E-mail: N\A

Site:

Detail information about job Funded PhD Studentship: Primate Socioendocrinology Revisited: New Tools to Tackle Old Questions. Terms and conditions vacancy

Start date: 1 January 2018

Supervisors and institutionsPrimary Supervisor: Dr Ines Fürtbauer (http://ines.fürtbauer.com/)Other Supervisors: Dr Andrew King and Professor Justin O’Riain

College of Science, Swansea University, UK and the Institute for Communities and Wildlife, University of Cape Town, South Africa.

This studentship is part of a collaborative doctoral degree programme jointly run by Swansea University and the University of Cape Town. On successful completion, the candidate will be awarded their degree by Swansea University, “offered in Collaboration with the University of Cape Town”.  

The projectThe impact of the social environment on hormone-behaviour interactions has been the focus of many primatological studies. Yet, a number of questions remain unanswered, which we attribute largely to methodological issues with direct (focal) observations and relying on rates of behaviours over time. Recent advances in bio-logging now offer a more in-depth perspective and allow us to revisit some of these open questions. Together with another PhD student, the successful applicant will employ bespoke tracking collars (GPS, accelerometer) on a troop of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) on the Cape Peninsular, South Africa. These collars allow continuous quantification of behaviours/locations in real-time which, together with using a variety of the latest state-of-the-art non-invasive methods for assessing short- and long-term steroid hormone profiles, will enable us to test a number of socioendocrinological hypotheses in a wild primate. In particular, the project aims to quantify the exchange (and use) of sociopositive behaviours and evaluate their hormonal causes and consequences. Furthermore, Cape baboons have come into frequent conflict with humans and this project also aims to identify potential socioendocrinological underpinnings of human-baboon conflict and coping with human-induced environmental change.

The successful applicant will acquire diverse research skills, including field and laboratory techniques and advanced data analysis / statistical / modelling skills, and will benefit from working within a lively, inter-disciplinary research environment. 

Eligibility

Academic requirements:Candidates should have at least an Upper Second Class Honours or equivalent undergraduate degree in a relevant subject. An MSc and/or relevant experimental/methodological/field experience would also be an advantage.

Candidates whose first language is not English, we require IELTS 6.5 (with 6.0 in each component) or equivalent. Please visit our website for a list of acceptable English language tests. 

Additional Funding InformationThis three year fully funded Swansea University College of Science scholarship covers full UK/EU tuition fees plus annual stipend of £14,553.

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