PhD POSITION OPEN in ECOLOGY OF PLANT-INSECT RELATIONSHIPS Linking plant species diversity to insect functional diversity and ecosystem services in small forest patches embedded in contrasted European agricultural landscapes
open at the Jules Verne University of Picardy (UPJV) Prof. Guillaume DECOCQs Lab, Amiens city (France) A 3-year PhD position in ecology is available in the research group of Guillaume Decocq at Jules Verne University of Picardie (Amiens, France), beginning the 1st September 2012. The fellowship is to work in close relationship with a pan-european project dedicated to ecosystem services associated to biodiversity of small forest patches in agricultural landscapes. There is sufficient latitude for the successful applicant to steer the project to align with her/his interests. Background: Climate and land use changes pose severe threats to biodiversity and the services they provide to human societies. In many parts of Europe, the original forest cover has strongly been reduced and in these regions forests presently occur as small fragments, often embedded in an intensively used agricultural matrix. Despite their small size, these forest patches often act as refuges for biodiversity and may provide a wide range of ecosystem services (ES) to populations and human society. Biodiversity and ES of small forest fragments are mutually dependent as they are determined by a similar set of drivers. However, the nature and strength of the relationships between biodiversity and ES will vary, depending on the taxonomic group and ES under consideration, and on the landscape context including the type and intensity of the surrounding land-use and the land-use history. In this context, relationships between plant species diversity on the first hand, and the functional diversity of insects and the ecosystem services they deliver on the other hand, remain largely unexplored, especially in changing landscapes facing climate warming. The main objective of this PhD project is to quantify ES associated to the interaction between plant biodiversity and various guilds of insects in small forest fragments among agricultural landscapes and across different regions in Europe. More specifically, four tasks will be tackled: (i) distribution of Carabidae species and richness in agricultural landscapes and its relationships with vascular plant species richness, landscape structure and history, and local environmental factors; (ii) food diet of dominant Carabidae species among contrasted landscapes with a special focus on Aphids; (iii) landscape genetics of a plant-Aphid pair; (iv) relationships between landscape composition and structure and services to agriculture. The project will build on a unique field experiment 16 5 km x 5 km landscape sampling windows distributed across the entire European temperate forest biome. The PhD project includes a significant amount of field (insect trapping) and lab (insect identification and molecular analyses) work. This research will occur in rural landscapes along a transect ranging from South France to Central Sweden and Estonia, through Belgium and Germany, but most of the field work will be done in North France, where the successful applicant will be based (at the Jules Verne University of Picardie in Amiens city). Applicants should have the following experience and qualifications: Strong skills in field ecology and/or entomology, statistics and modelling (intimate working knowledge of R is preferable). Strong background in ecology of plant-animal relationships, landscape ecology and population genetic Experience in Carabidae taxonomy. Intimate working knowledge of molecular tools (genetic markers, PCR). Excellent verbal and written communication skills to facilitate dissemination of results in scientific outlets. Desire to work closely with other researchers and mentor students A valid drivers license The grant is approximately 1375 net per month. Position to begin September 1st, 2012 To apply, please send a cover letter addressing each of the requested qualification, a CV, two or more references (contact information or letters to Prof. Guillaume Decocq (guillaume.decocq@u- picardie.fr) or Jules Verne University of Picardy, EDYSAN, 1 rue des Louvels, F-80037 Amiens Cedex, France. Applications will be considered until the position is filled.
