Behavioural adaptation to environmental change in birds and the implications for conservation

Contact: Dr Lyanne Brouwer: Lyanne.brouwer@jcu.edu.au

College of Science & Engineering

James Cook University, Townsville QLD 4811 Australia

Title: Behavioural adaptation to environmental change in birds

About the project:

Animals might adapt their behaviour behaviour to changing environmental conditions, like climate change and habitat loss. The project will study the dynamic interplay between ecological conditions and behaviour through a combination of new experiments, detailed behavioural observations and long-term datasets.

Possible areas of study include:

1. Field based experiments and behavioural studies to determine whether variation in social behaviour can buffer against adverse weather effects in a long-term population study of red-winged fairy-wrens. Would suit an applicant who: has a passion for fieldwork.
2. Comparative approaches whereby large-scale social organisation and behavioural data from multiple fairy-wren species and populations will be collected across Australia to examine whether variation in climate drives any of these traits. Would suit an applicant who: has a passion for fieldwork and analyses using large datasets.
3. Examination of the fitness consequences of variation in social behaviour within and across species using long-term data combined with state-of-the-art genetic techniques. Would suit an applicant who: has a passion for data-based projects and quantitative genetics.
4. Investigate the spatial and habitat requirements of endangered finches by acquiring long-term systematic movement data that can help with the implementation of effective management actions. Would suit an applicant who: has a passion for fieldwork and conservation.

Applications are open for non-Australian applicants both in Australia and overseas, and Australian domestic students.

To be a successful applicant you would ideally have a background in ecology. For field-based projects, experience in studying birds/birdwatching is required. You would either have, or be likely, to get a first-class Honours or Master’s degree at an institution of high repute. The degree must have included a research project that represents a significant contribution to the final mark. To be competitive for an international scholarship an excellent GPA and Peer-reviewed papers are required. Closing date for applications is 31 August 2024 with a starting date in 2025.

If you are interested, please email me with a CV detailing your GPA and publications and I will let you know whether I think your skill set and academic record would place you well against the competition.

See my website for more information about my research.