The PhD Project
- You will work actively on the preparation and defence of a PhD thesis on the extent and functional significance of geographic variation in osteoderm expression in Hemicordylus capensis lizards.
- You will determine the degree and pattern of within- and among population variability in the expression of osteoderms, using (in-vivo) x-ray tomography on museum specimens and field-caught specimens.
- You will quantify among-population variability in environmental variables linked to osteoderm expression.
- You will examine the functional significance of osteoderm expression by quantifying its effects on locomotion, body protection, thermoregulation, water balance and mineral budget. .
- You will perform a significant amount of field work in South Africa.
- You will be able to work together with two other PhD students that focus on the evolutionary ecology and genetic architecture of osteoderm expression, respectively.
- You will be supervised by an interdisciplinary team consisting of Raoul Van Damme, Chris Broeckhoven and Simon Baeckens (Functional Morphology), Hannes Svardal and Genevieve Diedericks (Evolutionary Genomics) and Erik Matthysen (Evolutionary Ecology).
- You will carry out a limited number of teaching and research support tasks for the Functional Morphology Group.
Your profile
- You hold a Master degree in Biology or a related field or you will have obtained it by the time you start work.
- You have a strong background in ecology and evolutionary biology.
- You enjoy long days of field work.
- You can demonstrate excellent study results.
- You act with attention to quality, integrity, creativity and cooperation.
Practicalities
- We offer a doctoral scholarship for a period of two years. Following a positive evaluation, the scholarship can be renewed once for another two-year period.
- The application deadline is 1 September 2021.
- The planned start date is 1 October 2021 or as soon as possible after that date.
- Your monthly scholarship amount is calculated according to the scholarship amounts for doctoral scholarship holders on the pay scales for Contract Research Staff (Dutch: Bijzonder Academisch Personeel, BAP).
- You will do most of your research at Campus Drie Eiken in a dynamic and stimulating working environment.
- Find out more about working at the University of Antwerp here.