Looking for a predoctoral student to apply for a Joan Oró grant (FI 2024) from the Generalitat of Catalonia Project title:
Project title: "Parasitism on islands: diversity of intestinal parasites and role in the fitness of the endemic lizard of the Balearic Islands, Podarcis lilfordi".
Profile Description:
We are looking for a candidate to carry out a doctoral thesis within the framework of a national project coordinated between the University of Barcelona (UB), the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) and the Institut d'Estudis Mediterrani (IMEDEA)-CSIC of Mallorca (project title: “The insularity syndrome: towards an integration of life history, intestinal symbionts and population dynamics”). The thesis will be co-directed by the UB ecologist Laura Baldo and the UIB parasitologist Claudia Paredes. The candidate will join the Evolutionary Ecology research group (EVOK) of the Ecology section of the UB and will have to apply for a FI-2024 grant from the Generalitat of Catalonia (link call and application).
Objectives
The project will represent the first study of the taxonomic diversity and incidence of intestinal parasites in the Balearic lizard, an endemic island species currently in danger of extinction. The species is found on several islets around Menorca, Mallorca and Cabrera.
The main objectives will be:
•Classification of the diversity of nematodes and protists present in the intestine of the lizard
•Study of individual (e.g. sex, morphology) and environmental/temporal (e.g. island, season, population density) variables possibly involved in parasite diversity
•Reconstruction of phylogeographic patterns of parasites in the complex of island populations
•Correlation between parasites and individual fitness of the lizard and integration into a population dynamics model
Methodology
•Sampling of different island populations for collection of feces and population monitoring, in collaboration with Giacomo Tavecchia's group (IMEDEA)
•Microscopy, metagenomics (amplicon metabarcoding and shotgun metagenomics), bioinformatics and multivariate statistics, in collaboration with the group of Laura Baldo (UB) and Claudia Paredes (UIB)
Requirements (full list in the Requirements Link)
•Have completed the studies prior to the doctorate between January 1, 2021 and the start date of the contract
•Minimum 300 ECTS credits, university master's degree or an equivalent degree
•Minimum average grade equal to or greater than 6.50
Submission of applications (ends on October 10, 2023)
Interested persons must send an email to baldo.laura@ub.edu before October 5, 2023 attaching:
- A letter of interest
- CV with the grade of the academic record
Profile Description:
We are looking for a candidate to carry out a doctoral thesis within the framework of a national project coordinated between the University of Barcelona (UB), the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) and the Institut d'Estudis Mediterrani (IMEDEA)-CSIC of Mallorca (project title: “The insularity syndrome: towards an integration of life history, intestinal symbionts and population dynamics”). The thesis will be co-directed by the UB ecologist Laura Baldo and the UIB parasitologist Claudia Paredes. The candidate will join the Evolutionary Ecology research group (EVOK) of the Ecology section of the UB and will have to apply for a FI-2024 grant from the Generalitat of Catalonia (link call and application).
Objectives
The project will represent the first study of the taxonomic diversity and incidence of intestinal parasites in the Balearic lizard, an endemic island species currently in danger of extinction. The species is found on several islets around Menorca, Mallorca and Cabrera.
The main objectives will be:
•Classification of the diversity of nematodes and protists present in the intestine of the lizard
•Study of individual (e.g. sex, morphology) and environmental/temporal (e.g. island, season, population density) variables possibly involved in parasite diversity
•Reconstruction of phylogeographic patterns of parasites in the complex of island populations
•Correlation between parasites and individual fitness of the lizard and integration into a population dynamics model
Methodology
•Sampling of different island populations for collection of feces and population monitoring, in collaboration with Giacomo Tavecchia's group (IMEDEA)
•Microscopy, metagenomics (amplicon metabarcoding and shotgun metagenomics), bioinformatics and multivariate statistics, in collaboration with the group of Laura Baldo (UB) and Claudia Paredes (UIB)
Requirements (full list in the Requirements Link)
•Have completed the studies prior to the doctorate between January 1, 2021 and the start date of the contract
•Minimum 300 ECTS credits, university master's degree or an equivalent degree
•Minimum average grade equal to or greater than 6.50
Submission of applications (ends on October 10, 2023)
Interested persons must send an email to baldo.laura@ub.edu before October 5, 2023 attaching:
- A letter of interest
- CV with the grade of the academic record