Organisation/Company: Universite de Montpellier
Department: Human Resources
Research Field: Environmental science » Ecology, Biological sciences » Biodiversity, Biological sciences » Zoology
Researcher Profile: Recognised Researcher (R2)
Positions: PhD Positions
Country: France
Application Deadline: 14 Dec 2024 - 23:59 (Europe/Paris)
Type of Contract: Temporary
Job Status: Full-time
Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Horizon Europe
Reference Number: 2025-R0034
Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No
Offer Description - KEYANTS aims to study how driver ants respond to anthropogenic disturbance and support tropical rainforest functioning in Africa. The ecology of driver ants will be comprehensively described for the first time using various methods including dietary DNA metabarcoding, movement analysis using GIS data, forest floor invertebrate samples, and whole-colony collections. We will compare how driver ant ecology and their functional contributions to the ecosystem change along a disturbance gradient.
- In the framework of the BIOPOLIS project KEYANTS, the role of the post-doc will be to describe the importance of driver ants (Dorylus sp.) in Equatorial Guinea, the keystone services they likely provide for the functioning of Afrotropical rainforests, and their sensitivity to anthropogenic disturbance.
- Responsibilities include:
Designing protocols for answering research questions.
Conducting field trips to Equatorial Guinea for setting up experiments to acquire data and samples, including extensive entomological surveys of leaf litter using Winkler extractors.
Geographic positioning of driver ant nests and raids twice per day for 45-60 days for each field trip, and recording ant activity.
Applying laboratory analyses to the collected samples, including dietary DNA metabarcoding.
Analysing data, including designing and using bioinformatic pipelines for DNA sequence analyses, building a network of fauna dependent on driver ants, and performing various statistical analyses.
Writing scientific publications to promote results.
Compiling a database containing all data obtained within the framework of the KEYANTS project, and analysing these data for scientific publications or reports, with oversight from the N+1.
Field missions in Equatorial Guinea.
Where to apply E-mail: ******
Requirements Research Field: Environmental science » Ecology
Education Level: PhD or equivalent
Skills/Qualifications: PhD in ecology or evolution.
Additional Information Work Location(s) Number of offers available: 1
Company/Institute: Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE)
Country: France
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