PhD - The evolution of sexual and genetic conflicts - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Project description

Sexual and genetic conflicts occur on many levels, yet the evolution of such conflicts remains poorly understood. The PhD student will study these conflicts on a genomic scale in a long-term study population of great reed warblers where life-time fitness data and samples are already available. In particular, the project will focus on the genomic architecture of sexually selected traits (e.g. wing length and body size), the genomic signatures of dispersal, the genomic structure of telomeres and life span and their associations to reproductive success.

Job description

The project includes genome-wide sequencing of all individuals in the population between 1987-2018 using restriction site-associated sequencing (RADseq) to enable (i) genome-wide association studies (GWAS) mapping the phenotype to the genotype, (ii) parentage analyses to reveal the presence of extra-pair young, and (iii) assignment tests thereby the genotypic origin of immigrants is being revealed. Also, whole-genome screening (re-sequencing) will be conducted on a large number of individuals (100-200) to characterise the genome in terms of genes, telomeres and the mitochondria and associate these genomic features to fitness. Finally, comparative genomics to other closely relatated warblers will be conducted. The outcome will contribute significantly to our understanding of evolutionary processes shaping the sexual and genomic conflicts in vertebrates.

Qualifications

Master in biology or equivalent education in evolutionary biology or molecular ecology.
High motivation and a sincere interest in this particular project is crucial.
Laboratory experience from molecular techniques (PCR, Sanger sequencing) is desirable.
It is highly essential to have considerable experience from analyzing NGS data.
Analytic skills and an interest in bioinformatics are requested.
It is a requirement that spoken and written English is excellent.

Eligibility
Students with basic eligibility for third-cycle studies are those who- have completed a second-cycle degree- have completed courses of at least 240 credits, of which at least 60 credits are from second-cycle courses, or- have acquired largely equivalent knowledge in some other way, in Sweden or abroad.

The employment of doctoral students is regulated in the Swedish Code of Statues 1998: 80. Only those who are or have been admitted to PhD-studies may be appointed to doctoral studentships. When an appointment to a doctoral studentship is made, the ability of the student to benefit from PhD-studies shall primarily be taken into account. In addition to devoting themselves to their studies, those appointed to doctoral studentships may be required to work with educational tasks, research and administration, in accordance with specific regulations in the ordinance.

Type of employment
Limit of tenure, four years according to HF 5 kap 7§.