Postdoctoral Research Associate / Fellow

The Role

The Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy wishes to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Associate or Fellow to participate in research on the evolution of social behaviour and scent communication in animal societies. The successful applicant will work with a team led by Prof Michael Cant to investigate the evolution and maintenance of group identity in a wild population of banded mongooses in Uganda.

A key step in the evolution of cooperative societies is the emergence of phenotypic markers of group identity, which permit group members to discriminate fellow cooperators from outsiders. Yet very little is known about how or why individuals merge or suppress their individuality to form a coherent group phenotype, or the consequences of such behaviour for the phenotypic diversity of groups and populations. This project will address these questions using a wild population of banded mongooses at our study site in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda. In this species, group members mix their individual scents to form a group-specific scent profile, which acts as a marker of group identity during highly aggressive intergroup interactions. The research will investigate the physiological mechanisms generating and constraining scent individuality, the effects of intergroup conflict on identity signalling behaviour, and the causes of individual variation in group identity formation.

The successful applicant will be based at our lab in Cornwall, UK, but will be required to spend periods of up to several months at our field site in Uganda to carry out behavioural experiments and scent sampling, with assistance and training from our long-term field team. They will join a multi-institution team in the UK, Germany and Uganda working on the evolution of cooperation and intergroup conflict using diverse empirical systems and theoretical approaches.

About You

Postdoctoral Research Associate:The successful applicant will be able to present information on research progress and outcomes, communicate complex information, orally, in writing and electronically and prepare proposals and applications to external bodies.

Applicants will possess a relevant PhD (or be nearing completion) or possess an equivalent qualification/experience in a related field of study and be able to demonstrate sufficient knowledge in the discipline and of research methods and techniques to work within established research programmes.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow:The successful applicant will be able to develop research objectives, projects and proposals; identify sources of research funding and contribute to the process of securing funds and make presentations at conferences and other events.

Applicants will possess a relevant PhD or possess an equivalent qualification/experience in a related field of study. The successful applicant will have a proven track record in behavioural ecology, animal behaviour, ecophysiology or evolutionary biology, and possess sufficient specialist knowledge in the discipline to develop research programmes and methodologies. Applicants will have good statistical and IT skills and familiarity with or experience in field data collection, experimental design, and/or aspects of animal behaviour research.

Applicants will be required to conduct research for periods of up to several months at our Ugandan field site.

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this role.

Informal enquiries can be directed to Prof Michael Cant - m.a.cant@exeter.ac.uk.

If you are considering applying and need support to do so, please get in touch with us at hrhelpdesk@exeter.ac.uk.