Job Category
Teaching, Research & Scholarship
Employment Type
Full time
Location
Cambridge
Faculty/Prof Service
Faculty of Science & Engineering
Ref No
2158
Closing Date
19/03/2023
About ARU:
We are ranked in the world's top 350 institutions in the 2022 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and we are a global university transforming lives through innovative, inclusive and entrepreneurial education and research. Our research institutes and four faculties bridge scientific, technical and creative fields. We deliver impactful research which tackles pressing issues and makes a real difference to our communities. Our academic excellence has been recognised by the UK's Higher Education funding bodies, with 16 of our research areas assessed as world-leading. In 2021, we were awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize for our world-leading music therapy work.
Main Title: Species in the landscape: Understanding distributions of organisms through associations between their traits and geographic features.
Background:
A combination of environmental factors and the ecological characteristics that a species displays (its traits) determines where it can live. The interaction between these two factors, however, remains relatively unknown.
This project will address this knowledge gap by investigating the associations between species traits and landscape features (e.g., habitats, geology), determining how these associations vary between species groups. This has important implications for nature conservation and sustainable land management. Understanding and predicting how rapid landscape changes impact species through their traits is vital if we are to be able to manage our landscapes in a sustainable way that promotes and maintains biodiversity and human wellbeing in the face of climate and land use change, as well as additional ecological pressures such as invasive species.
The project will investigate a range of taxonomic groups in the UK including plants, birds, butterflies, and ladybirds. These groups have readily available species location data and published trait data exists. Furthermore, they provide a wide taxonomic range with different ecological strategies to detect different trait-landscape associations, whilst plants and ladybirds provide the ideal opportunity to investigate native and non-native species patterns.
Funding Notes and Eligibility :
Applications are open to Home fee status students only. This successful applicant will receive a Vice Chancellor's Scholarship award which covers Home tuition fees and a UKRI equivalent minimum annual stipend for three years. The award is subject to the successful candidate meeting the studentship Terms and Conditions which can be found on our website alongside further information on the project: https: // aru.ac.uk/research/postgraduate-research/vc-phd- scholarships
Applicants should have (or expect to achieve) a minimum upper second class undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a cognate discipline. A Master's degree in a relevant subject is desirable. Applicants must be prepared to study on a full-time basis, attending at our Cambridge campus.
Application Deadline : 19th March 2023
How to apply:
Applications for a Vice Chancellor's PhD Scholarship are made through the application portal on our website: https: // aru.ac.uk/research/postgraduate- research/vc-phd-scholarships
We will review all applications after the submission deadline of 19th March. We will contact shortlisted applicants in the week commencing 3rd April. Interviews will be held between 17th April to 2nd May.
If you have any queries relating to the application process or the terms and conditions of the Scholarships, please email [email protected]
Documentation required
You will need the following documents available electronically to upload them to the application portal (we can accept files in pdf, jpeg or Word format):
1) Certificates and transcripts from your Bachelor and Master's degrees, (if applicable)
2) Your personal statement explaining your suitability for the project
3) Passport and visa, or evidence of EU Settlement Scheme (if applicable)
4) Curriculum Vitae
Please note the application form will ask you to upload a research proposal. You should upload your personal statement in this section, as proposals are not required for this scholarship.
Contact us :
General enquiries: [email protected]
If you would like to discuss this research project, please contact [email protected]
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting welfare of our staff and students and expect all staff to share this commitment.
We value diversity at ARU and welcome applications from all sections of the community.