Postgraduate Studentships - Search for funding opportunities.
Postgraduate Studentships - Search for funding opportunities.
Deadline: Monday 13 January 2025
North West, All England
Across the UK, bird populations are increasingly at risk, with nearly half of British species classed as threatened with extinction and requiring conservation efforts. Willow tits (Poecile montanus) are the fastest declining resident bird species in the UK, having seen a 90% reduction in population size since 1999. The north west of England is home to most of the surviving breeding pairs of willow tit, mainly in post-industrial young woodlands. However, recent conservation efforts have often met with limited success. This project is aimed at testing hypotheses in willow tit conservation strategies by focusing on describing behaviour, community structure, and interspecific competition across a network of post-industrial woodlands in Merseyside. The outcome of this project will provide evidence-based data on how current forest management practices impact willow-tit recovery schemes and biodiversity net-gain goals. We will develop and build upon emerging technologies in Manchester Met’s new £117M science facilities, focusing on non-invasive biodiversity monitoring and experimental behavioural ecology through bioacoustics. The work will also aim to fill crucial knowledge gaps about the differential success of closely related species in human-disrupted landscapes, through experimental investigation of willow tit and blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) competition and interaction.
Project aims and objectives
The aims of this project are to better understand the factors related to the decline of the Uk Red-Listed species, the willow tit (Poecile montanus), the UK’s fastest declining resident bird species, and provide evidence-based data on how current land management strategies affect willow tit recovery schemes and avian biodiversity generally. The project aim will be met through 5 key objectives:
Testing the influence of avian community structure on willow tit presence and numbers across all Bold Forest properties.
Providing evidence on interspecific competition between willow tits and other birds for nesting sites and food sources.
Investigating tolerance of willow tits to anthropogenic disturbance (noise, human presence).
Determining whether isolated, small willow tit populations are culturally diverging in vocal behaviour, with negative consequences for communication and dispersal.
Experimentally test the efficacy of acoustic lures and provisioning of potential nesting sites on new willow tit settlement across the Mersey Forest properties.
The successful candidate will join a growing PhD community in Natural Sciences at Manchester Metropolitan, a department with a reputation for world-leading research in ornithology and conservation. To be a successful applicant you would ideally have a background in behavioural ecology or animal conservation. This project will require extensive time in the field, often early in the morning. Experience in the identification, observation and study of birds and their behaviour will be essential. You will be physically fit enough for fieldwork and ideally hold a full UK driving license, preferably with access to a vehicle, as field locations are not easy to access by public transportation. Previous experience working with bioacoustics would be advantageous. You will have an honours degree at a first or upper-second-class masters degree, with a research component. To be competitive for this fully funded position candidates should have an excellent academic track record, ideally with publication(s), and evidence of analytical and organisational skills. Experience in managing a data collection team would also be beneficial.
Please note that Home fees are covered. Eligible international students will need to make up the difference in tuition fee funding.
Interested applicants may wish to contact Dr Sue Anne Zollinger (s.zollinger@mmu.ac.uk) for an informal discussion.
To apply you will need to complete the online application form for a full-time PhD in Biological Science (or download the PGR application form).
You should also complete the PGR thesis proposal and a narrative CV form addressing the project’s aims and objectives, demonstrating how the skills you have map to the area of research and why you see this area as being of importance and interest. In the “proposal” section of the PGR form, please refer to the aims and objectives described in the project advertisement and write about how you might design experiments that would allow you to meet these objectives.
If applying online, you will need to upload your statement in the supporting documents section, or email the application form and statement to PGRAdmissions@mmu.ac.uk.
Please note that Home fees are covered. Eligible international students will need to make up the difference in tuition fee funding.
Closing date: Monday 13 January 2025
Expected start date: Monday 7 April 2025
Please quote the reference: SciEng-BioSci-SAZ-2025-Mersey Forest
UK, EU and International applicants
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