Ecophysiology of learning - Dwa stypendia doktoranckie

I seek 2 motivated Ph.D. students to join the project: ”Ecophysiology of learning: The effects of short- and long-term changes in ambient temperature on learning performance in a model songbird”, funded by the Polish National Science Centre (NCN) OPUS grant.

Project: Given current increase in climate unpredictability and short-term variability, it is particularly important to understand the consequences of environmental variation for cognitive performance. On the one hand, highly variable environmental conditions could induce physiological costs that may set limits to cognitive functions. On the other hand, environmental fluctuations could promote cognitive mechanisms responsible for more versatile behaviors. Those two options could be reconciled if physiological costs are reduced by pre-natal programming and/or developmental plasticity. Yet so far, the research in the field of environmental dependency of learning performance and potential for its modulation at early life stages is scarce. The main aim of the current project is to study the effect of temperature fluctuations in different time scales on learning efficiency in a model songbird, the zebra finch. Specifically, we will verify the following hypotheses: (i) Highly variable ambient temperature during development affects efficiency of the learning processes. (ii) Maternal effects modify the consequences of variable ambient temperature experienced during development on the efficiency of learning processes. (iii) Mismatch between environmental variability experienced during development and during adulthood affects learning processes at adulthood. 

Description of work: The research team will consist of PI (Joanna Rutkowska: http://iron2.eko.uj.edu.pl/rutkowska/index_e.htm), technical assistant and two PhD students. The study will be carried out at the Institute of Environmental Sciences of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, on a captive population of zebra finches established in 2000. It will involve breeding the birds, cross-fostering eggs, performing basic morphological measurements, and physiological tests such as analyses of blood parameters and hormone levels. Both PhD students will be trained to perform the practical part of the project, guided in skills needed for a successful scientific career, and encouraged to develop his/her own ideas. 

Position 1) The PhD student will record and analyse singing performance of fathers/tutors and all of their male offspring. To assess learning accuracy, the student will then assess repertoire size and extract repetitions of each syllable. Dr. Carlos A. Botero (https://biology.wustl.edu/people/carlos-botero) is a collaborator on this project and he will provide training of song analyses. 

Position 2) The PhD student will carry out tests on learning performance in relation to food acquisition in juveniles and adults: (i) problem-solving tasks providing an integrative measure of perception, reasoning and decision making; and in adults only: (ii) learning associations, (iii) spatial learning and (iv) social learning. 

References:

Botero, C.A. et al.  2015. Evolutionary tipping points in the capacity to adapt to environmental change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112:184-189. 
Maille, A. and Schradin, C. 2017. Ecophysiology of cognition: How do environmentally induced changes in physiology affect cognitive performance? Biological Reviews 92:1101-1112. 
Monaghan, P. 2008. Early growth conditions, phenotypic development and environmental change. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: 363:1635-1645.

Requirements: MSc in Biology or Animal Psychology and fluency in English. Experience in analyses of sonograms or any behavioural procedures planned in the current project, and previous research experience will be an additional asset.

Financing: The project is financed by the National Science Centre, which ensures a PhD student with a monthly tax-free research stipend of 4500 PLN for three years and a possibility of a short foreign internship. This stipend may be combined with the standard Ph.D. program scholarship if the student is accepted to the doctoral school in one of the following programs:

English-language: Ph.D. Program in Biology: https://wb.uj.edu.pl/studia/phd-biology, https://wb.uj.edu.pl/en_GB/studia/phd-biology/recruitment

Polish language: https://wb.uj.edu.pl/studia/studia-3-stopnia-biologia/rekrutacja

Application: The candidates are asked to e-mail Dr. Joanna Rutkowska (joanna.rutkowska_@_uj.edu.pl) attaching PDF files with 1) a cover letter explaining their background and interest in the project; 2) a CV. Contact details of two academics who can provide a confidential reference, should be in the body of the email. The review of applications is ongoing; please apply by 11th June 2019 to ensure full consideration in the June recruitment to the Doctoral School. The selected candidate or candidates will be assisted with a formal application to the Doctoral School. If the positions are not filled, there will be a possibility of an Autumn recruitment.

Starting date:

1st October  2019: for candidates who successfully recruit to the Doctoral School

1st January 2020: for candidates who do not wish to join the Doctoral School.

PhD position in Prague

Ecological and evolutionary significance of convergence in bird song: male and female responses to mixed singing in hybridizing nightingales

Project background:

Vocalization is important for maintenance of reproductive barriers in many bird species. Interspecific copying of acoustic signals nevertheless frequently occurs, and its ecological and evolutionary significance is still insufficiently understood. The aim of the PhD project is to evaluate potential adaptive value of this phenomenon in our intensively studied system, the contact zone of two hybridizing sister species of nightingales (Luscinia megarhynchos and L. luscinia)^1,2. In sympatry, most L. luscinia males incorporate songs of L. megarhynchos in their repertoires but not vice versa³. The student will test in field experiments the possible implications of this asymmetric song convergence: interspecific territoriality, mating preferences and hybridization. Playback experiments and bioacoustic analyses will show how males of both species respond to the mixed song in contrast to the pure species-specific song. Experiments on female preferences will test how mixed song is perceived by potential mates in both species. Detailed genomic analyses performed in parallel with this PhD project, will allow us to put field results into evolutionary context.

For more information, visit: http://web.natur.cuni.cz/~radkas/index.php?page=opportunities

¹ Storchová R, Reif J and Nachman MW (2010). Female heterogamety and speciation: Reduced introgression of the Z chromosome between two species of nightingales. Evolution 64(2):456-71.

² Reifová R, Reif J, Antczak M and Nachman MW (2011). Ecological character displacement in the face of gene flow: Evidence from two species of nightingales. BMC Evolutionary Biology 11:138.

³ Vokurková J, Petrusková T, Reifová R, Kozman A, Mořkovský L, Kipper S, Weiss M, Reif J, Dolata PT, Petrusek A (2013). The causes and evolutionary consequences of mixed singing in two hybridizing songbird species (Luscinia spp.). PLoS One 8(4):e60172.

Eligibility:

We expect a motivated student with good experience in field ornithology, able (after some training) to work independently in harsh field conditions. The ideal candidate for this PhD position is interested in both ecology and evolutionary biology, and is willing to learn new methods (experience of bioacoustics is a plus). He/she must have finished the MSc. (or equivalent) by September 2014 at the latest.

Time and place:

The student will work in a young team based at the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. The project will be conducted in close collaboration with Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. Fieldwork will be conducted in Poland, Czech Republic and Germany. The position is available for up to four years, starting in October 2014.

Salary:

The PhD candidate’s net monthly income will start at 16.500 CZK (ca 610 EUR) in the first year, and may progressively increase with experience and achievements during the study. (Note that living expenses in the Czech Republic are generally lower than in Western European countries.)

Research team:

Tereza Petrusková (Department of Ecology, Charles University in Prague) – supervisor
Jiří Reif (Institute for Environmental Studies, Charles University in Prague) – co-supervisor

Adam Petrusek (Department of Ecology, Charles University in Prague)
Radka Reifová (Department of Zoology, Charles University in Prague)
Silke Kipper (Freie Universität Berlin)

 

How to apply:

If interested, send a motivation letter, CV, publication list, title or abstract of Master (Diploma) thesis, and contact details of 2-3 senior scientists that can provide references on you in a single PDF file to tereza.petruskova@natur.cuni.cz until January 31, 2014. Pre-selected candidates will be encouraged to submit an official application to the university.