[Mitarbeiter.zoologie] Fwd: INSECTS news Sunday, 1 December 2024

[Robert Paxton]

Dear All,

Two PhDs are on offer on bees (neurobiology/microbiomes) in the UK, one at Durham and the other at Exeter. Plus a posted in California; see below for details.

Robert


> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> 2) PhD: BRAIN EVOLUTION AND COMPARATIVE ANATOMY ACROSS BUMBLEBEE SPECIES: DURHAM UNIVERSITY, UK
> 
> Deadline for applications: 6 / 31 December 2024
> 
> Full project description: https://iapetus2.ac.uk/studentships/brain-evolution-and-comparative-anatomy-across-bumblebee-species/
> 
> Bumblebees are agriculturally important pollinators, but are currently declining in abundance in the UK and around the world. Understanding these declines requires research on bee biology and physiology. So far the bumblebee nervous system has been extensively studied only in the species that may be purchased commercially and kept in a laboratory: Bombus terrestris and Bombus impatiens. The aim of this project is to investigate brain anatomy of 7 closely-related bumblebees from the North-East of England, together with the degree of plasticity and factors that may affect it: nutrition, climate, flower diversity and availability, bee tasks in the nest, etc.
> 
> Interested non-UK applicants should contact Dr Olena Riabinina (olena.riabinina at durham.ac.uk) by the 6th of December with their CV and Cover/Motivation letter.
> Interested UK applicants should contact Dr Olena Riabinina (olena.riabinina at durham.ac.uk) by the 31st of December with their CV and Cover/Motivation letter.
> 
> —————
> 3) PhD: MICROBIOME DYNAMICS AND PATHOGEN SPREAD IN POLLINATOR SPECIES NETWORKS, EXETER
> 
> Deadline for applications: 11 December 2024
> 
> Supervisory team:
> Main supervisor: Prof Jeremy Field (University of Exeter)
> Second supervisor: Dr Xavier Harrison (University of Exeter)
> Dr Nathalie Stroeymeyt (University of Bristol)
> 
> Host institution: University of Exeter (Penryn)
> 
> Project description:
> Insect pollinators are crucial for agricultural sustainability, but the health and abundance of pollinators is in decline. It is increasingly clear that gut-associated microbial communities play a vital role in pollinator health, determining resistance to pathogens and shaping host nutrition. Previous work on pollinator microbiomes has tended to focus on single species, so that we lack a comprehensive understanding of how biological interactions among species shape microbiome structure and function. Understanding the complex relationships among pollinators, their microbiomes and the environment is also essential for understanding transmission routes of key parasites and pathogens that impact pollinator health.
> 
> The project will use an interdisciplinary approach, integrating molecular estimates of pollinator microbiotas with ecological network data on species interactions. This will yield valuable insights into how heterogeneity in the frequency of intra- and interspecific interactions drives variation in microbiomes and subsequent pollinator health and resistance to pathogens.
> 
> Project Aims
> The balance between aims will depend partly on the student’s developing interests
> 
> Quantify the importance of pollinator phylogeny, and the degree of plant specialization, for predicting the microbiomes of pollinator taxa Using a meta-analytic approach, we will use published sequencing data from a broad range of wild pollinators to understand the impact of host phylogeny on microbiome composition. We will also annotate the phylogeny with ecological trait data including degree of host plant specialisation to test the prediction that more generalist species have more diverse gut microbiota.
> Determine the relative importance of host plant specialisation and direct interactions on flowers in influencing microbiome composition and dynamics This will be a novel investigation of how fine-scale variation in pollinator behaviour and space use influences gut microbiota dynamics. It will involve intensive field surveys of pollinators to build species interaction networks and use of these networks to predict microbiome structure derived from 16S rRNA sequencing. We will test the prediction that co-foraging pollinators have more similar gut bacterial communities, independent of host phylogeny.
> Use metagenomic data to build putative transmission networks to understand the potential routes of pathogen spread Sharing of microbial strains is a powerful tool to detect the combined effects of direct and indirect interactions as conduits of potential pathogen spread. The student will generate microbial strain-sharing data using metagenomics and produce putative transmission networks. These will be compared with the direct interaction network in [2] to investigate the relative importance of direct versus indirect routes of transmission.
> Apply by 11 December 2024 via: https://www.swbio.ac.uk/agriculture-and-the-environment/
> 
> ————-
> 4) POSTDOC: DECIPHERING SOCIAL COMMUNICATION IN STRESS-TOLERANT HONEYBEES, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE
> 
> Position is open until filled
> 
> We have an opening for a postdoctoral researcher interested to work at the Center for Integrative Bee Research (CIBER, see https://ciber.ucr.edu) at the University of California, Riverside on a project recently funded by the W. M. Keck Foundation: Deciphering social communication in stress-tolerant honeybees. The postdoc will be responsible for generating transgenic bees, performing behavioral assays, bee husbandry, and 2-photon calcium imaging in bees in response to odor presentations, working both in the lab and outdoors.
> 
> Applicants should have a strong background in insect neuroscience and/or genetics. In particular, candidates with experience in multiphoton imaging and CRISPR are encouraged to apply. Beekeeping experience is not required; however, the postdoc should be open to work with our apiary manager to care for bees outdoors. Prospective postdoctoral researchers should contact Ysabel Giraldo (ysabel.giraldo at ucr.edu) and provide an updated CV, statement of intent, and contact information for three references. Applications will be reviewed as received until the position is filled. Postdoctoral researchers will be supported for a minimum of 1 year with possibility of renewal for two more years. Salary is commensurate with experience and a benefit package (full medical) is included.
> 
> UC Riverside is one of the ten campuses in the prestigious University of California system. The UCR Department of Entomology has been ranked No. 2 worldwide by the Center for World Universities (April 2017) and No. 1 by the U.S. National Research Council. UC Riverside is centrally located in southern California about 40 miles east of Los Angeles and 75 miles north of San Diego. Riverside was recently named one of America's top ten Most Livable Communities. The Pacific Ocean, San Bernardino Mountains, ski areas, and deserts are located within an hour drive.
> 
> —————
> 5) ENQUIRY ABOUT FEEDING OF SOCIAL INSECTS ON STRANDED JELLYFISH
> 
> Dear Social Insect community,
> 
> My name is Florian Lüskow and I am a marine biologist and working with gelatinous zooplankton in marine, brackish water and freshwater systems. I came across this highly interesting paper by a colleague of mine from Guam. Baed on his discovery, I wondered whether the feeding association of social insect to stranded jellyfish is a common phenomenon and contact my old professor at Bremen University, Dorothea Brückner. She was unaware of such interactions and recommended that I reach out to the INSECTS newsletter and ask for assistance. Would you be able to spread my question to the network and help in channeling observations (globally) to me?
> 
> Very best wishes from Vancouver,
> 
> Florian Lüskow
> 
> +1 236 818 6221
> Postdoctoral research fellow
> Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, 2039-2207 Main Mall
> Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, 2202 Main Mall
> Marine Zooplankton and Micronekton Laboratory
> University of British Columbia
> Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4
> Canada
>