PhD in Applying Genomic Approaches to Understand Bat Population Declines

University of Exeter - Department of Biosciences

About the Partnership

This project is one of a number that are in competition for funding from the NERC Great Western Four+ Doctoral Training Partnership (GW4+ DTP). The GW4+ DTP consists of the Great Western Four alliance of the University of Bath, University of Bristol, Cardiff University and the University of Exeter plus five Research Organisation partners: British Antarctic Survey, British Geological Survey, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the Natural History Museum and Plymouth Marine Laboratory. The partnership aims to provide a broad training in earth and environmental sciences, designed to train tomorrow’s leaders in earth and environmental science. For further details about the programme please see http://nercgw4plus.ac.uk/

For eligible successful applicants, the studentships comprises:

• An stipend for 3.5 years (currently £20,780 p.a. for 2026/27) in line with UK Research and Innovation rates
• Payment of university tuition fees
• The budget for project costs is £9,000 which can be used for computer, lab, and fieldwork costs necessary for you to conduct your research.
• There is also a conference budget of £2,000 and individual Training Budget of £1,000 for specialist training

Project Aims and Methods

Wildlife populations have declined dramatically in the past century in response to anthropogenic environmental changes, but appropriate tools to study the magnitude and consequences of these declines are missing. Genomic data can help address this gap through reconstructing changes in population size over time, while museum collections can elucidate morphological responses to historic changes.

This project is a partnership with the Bat Conservation Trust, aiming to understand the historic context underpinning contemporary bat population sizes, which is essential for setting targets for species recovery. We are looking for a Doctoral Researcher with a strong interest in ecology, conservation and genetics / genomics to develop the following research questions:

1. Have British bat populations declined in the past few centuries in response to environmental changes? What are the consequences of these declines?
2. How do bat ecological traits affect the magnitude of population declines?
3. What can museum specimens tell us about changes in bat morphology in response to climate and land-use changes over the past century?

The supervisory team will provide training in bat research, bioinformatics, genomic, ecological and spatial data analysis, and knowledge exchange. This project includes an internship with a conservation organisation and fieldwork opportunities.

CASE Partner

The Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) will provide staff time to act as project co-supervisor, access to technical expertise of BCT staff and access to BCT in-house training resources and event. An internship at BCT of at least three months will be provided to introduce the Doctoral Researcher to the range of work undertaken within the conservation sector and support to complete a research project(s) that furthers BCT’s strategic aims. There is also access to BCT’s long-term bat population monitoring data, administrative support with fieldwork, support with public engagement and disseminating project findings to policy makers and conservation managers and incorporation of project findings in BCT’s work on UK bat favourable conservation status.

Useful recruitment links:

For information relating to the research project please contact the lead Supervisor via: O.Razgour@exeter.ac.uk

Funding Comment

For eligible students the studentship will cover home tuition fees plus an annual tax-free stipend.