Is it the weather or the neighbours? The role of the physical and biotic environment in determining biodiversity distributions.

Species’ niches are constrained by abiotic conditions like climate and land-use, and by biotic interactions like consumption, competition, and facilitation. However, abiotic and biotic conditions do not act in isolation. The interplay between them drives species distributions, abundances, population dynamics, community structure, evolutionary trajectories, and how biodiversity responds to environmental change. I’ll explore new methods, data, and conceptual approaches for measuring biotic and abiotic drivers of biodiversity patterns at local and global scales. I’ll draw on work done by several members of my research group, FABio – Fundamental and Applied Biogeography.

This talk is hybrid - email the organisers for a Zoom link

• Speaker: Regan Early, Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, UK
• Tuesday 07 February 2023, 13:00-14:00
• Venue: Part II Lecture Theatre and online via Zoom - contact organiser for details.
• Series: Behaviour, Ecology & Evolution Seminar Series; organiser: Stephen Pates.

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Seeing through the noise: how fish use visual information to navigate in challenging conditions

Navigation, or the ability to accurately and efficiently determine one’s position relative to a goal, underpins many important behaviours. For aquatic animals, visually-guided navigation underwater comes with particular challenges. In addition to an extended range of movement along both the vertical and horizontal axes compared to most terrestrial animals, the appearance of visual cues can change rapidly due to the behaviour of light in water (e.g. attenuation, wave-induced flicker, low-light), reducing the accuracy of landmark identification. In this talk, I will discuss what we can learn from laboratory experiments about the mechanism of visual navigation, including object recognition, distance estimation, and route planning. I will also explore how we can use recent advances in computer vision and photogrammetry to understand the navigation behaviour of wild fish moving within their complex natural environments.

This talk is hybrid - email the organisers for a Zoom link

• Speaker: Cait Newport, University of Oxford
• Tuesday 31 January 2023, 13:00-14:00
• Venue: Part II Lecture Theatre and online via Zoom - contact organiser for details.
• Series: Behaviour, Ecology & Evolution Seminar Series; organiser: Dr Emily Mitchell.

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Biomechanical control of Clytia jellyfish regeneration

Abstract not available

• Speaker: Dr Chiara Sinigaglia (Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls-sur-Mer)
• Wednesday 08 March 2023, 13:00-14:00
• Venue: Part II Lecture Theatre, Department of Zoology.
• Series: Evolution and Development Seminar Series; organiser: Christine Hirschberger.

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The developmental origin of colour patterns in birds

Abstract not available

• Speaker: Dr Marie Manceau (College De France)
• Wednesday 01 March 2023, 13:00-14:00
• Venue: Online.
• Series: Evolution and Development Seminar Series; organiser: Bethan Clark.

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Research data supporting 'Pollen-feeding delays reproductive senescence and maintains toxicity of Heliconius butterflies' Pinheiro De Castro, Erika; McPherson, Josie; Julian, Glennis; Mattila, Anniina; Bak, Søren; Montgomery, Stephen; Jiggins, Chris The dataset has information about Heliconius erato demophoon butterflies fed for 14d (young) and 45d (old) on three different diets: sugar only (N); sugar + supplement (C) ; sugar + pollen from flowers (F). These experiments were set up with 8 males and 8 females of similar size (~3 cm of forewing radius) per treatment (diet/age). At the end of the experiment, females were individually assay for fertility: number of laid eggs recorded and the total eggs per females collected for quantification of cyanogenic glucosides (CG) using target-metabolomic (HPLC-MS/MS). Recently ecloded butterflies (0d, unfed) was also collected as a baseline. All butterflies were also weighted and collected for target metabolomics at the end of the experiment.

Unravelling 3-dimensional growth in plants

Abstract not available

• Speaker: Dr Laura Moody (University of Oxford)
• Wednesday 01 February 2023, 13:00-14:00
• Venue: Part II Lecture Theatre, Department of Zoology.
• Series: Evolution and Development Seminar Series; organiser: Thea Edith Kongsted.

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The origins of land plant complexity: interpreting development in the Devonian

Abstract not available

• Speaker: Dr Sandy Hetherington (University of Edinburgh)
• Wednesday 15 February 2023, 13:00-14:00
• Venue: Part II Lecture Theatre, Department of Zoology.
• Series: Evolution and Development Seminar Series; organiser: Thea Edith Kongsted.

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Title to be confirmed

Abstract not available

• Speaker: Dr Marie Manceau (College De France)
• Wednesday 01 March 2023, 13:00-14:00
• Venue: Online.
• Series: Evolution and Development Seminar Series; organiser: Nadine Randel.

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Title to be confirmed

Abstract not available

• Speaker: Dr Sandy Hetherington (University of Edinburgh)
• Wednesday 15 February 2023, 13:00-14:00
• Venue: Part II Lecture Theatre, Department of Zoology.
• Series: Evolution and Development Seminar Series; organiser: Nadine Randel.

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Title to be confirmed

Abstract not available

• Speaker: Dr Laura Moody (University of Oxford)
• Wednesday 01 February 2023, 13:00-14:00
• Venue: Part II Lecture Theatre, Department of Zoology.
• Series: Evolution and Development Seminar Series; organiser: Nadine Randel.

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Title to be confirmed

Abstract not available

• Speaker: Dr Chiara Sinigaglia (Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls-sur-Mer)
• Wednesday 08 March 2023, 13:00-14:00
• Venue: Part II Lecture Theatre, Department of Zoology.
• Series: Evolution and Development Seminar Series; organiser: Nadine Randel.

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Reconstructing brain evolution, one cell at the time

Abstract not available

• Speaker: Dr Maria A Tosches (Columbia University)
• Wednesday 08 February 2023, 13:00-14:00
• Venue: Online.
• Series: Evolution and Development Seminar Series; organiser: Nadine Randel.

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Fossoriality In Snakes: Perspectives From Morphology And The Fossil Record Howard, Alexandra Snakes are a speciose clade of squamates that have diversified into almost all habitats, all with the same elongate limbless body plan. This thesis aims to improve scientific understanding of snake evolution by focusing on novel perspectives using both extant snakes and the fossil record. 1. Alternate phylogenetic positions of fossils affects body size estimates in snakes Body size is a readily available metric for both extant and extinct snakes. The competing hypothesis of ecological snake origins also predict different outcomes for the evolution of body size in snakes. I used a combination of ancestral state reconstructions, body size estimates of fossils from regression models, and evolutionary rate modelling to examine the evolution of body size in snakes, with a particular focus on early snake evolution. This project showed that snakes achieve a wide range of diversity of body size during the Cretaceous, trends that are not observed when using data from extant taxa. 2. Cranial osteology of Typhlopidae (Serpentes: Scolecophidia) Scolecophidia are a distinctive group of snakes that occupy the basal most diverging branches of the snake phylogeny. However, due to the small overall size of many taxa, they have been relatively understudied in regards to comparative anatomy. In this project I examined segmented CT scans of 10 different species of Typhlopoidea, the largest clade of Scolecophidia. Using these comparisons I identified variability in several morphological characters not previously thought to be variable in Scolecophidia, as well as the identification of features in large typhlopids such as the lateral wings of the basisphenoid, which were previously thought to be limited only to Alethinophidia. 3. Morphometrics provide evidence for the fossorial origin of snakes The problem of homoplasy, particularly in relation to adaptation to fossoriality, is potentially responsible for the incongruences between phylogenetic hypothesis of snakes that use either morphological or molecular data. In this project I used CT scans of 73 species of alethinophidian snake and geometric morphometrics to examine morphological correlates to fossoriality. I found that there is a clear morphological signal between the parietal of alethinophidian snakes and ecology. In general, the parietal of fossorial snakes is more elongate with a deep u or v shaped fronto-parietal suture, with an elongated posterior shelf that overlaps the braincase. These projects show how integrative research using both extant and palaeontological data can inform questions about the early evolution of clades, particularly the heavily debated ecological origin of snakes.

We are looking for a postdoc to work on exciting multidisciplinary project linking ecosystem modelling to one of the most fundamental transitions in Earth and evolutionary history. This project is funded by the new Cambridge Leverhulme Centre of Life in the Universe. The position is based at the Department of Zoology, within the Deep Time Ecology group, in collaboration with Prof Nick Butterfield, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge.

The successful candidate will assemble a comprehensive database of ecological 'guilds' and environmental feedback effects through the pre-Ediacaran to Cambrian transition, based on the palaeontological, geochemical and stratigraphic record. They will then construct multi-dimensional model networks for each of the six eco-evolutionary stages we have delineated through the microbial-metazoan transition. These models will then be used to calculate global biomass, metabolic rates, and degrees of motility across the microbial-metazoan transition, comparing with the empirical record. These models will finally be used to investigate the macroevolutionary dynamics associated with the transition, with a focus on the differing modes of ecosystem 'stability.' Experience of ecological network models is required. No prior knowledge of palaeobiology is needed, and quantitative ecologists are encouraged to apply.

There will be opportunities for limited supervision/instruction to classes.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available to start between April and October 2023 for up to 24 months.

Interviews will be held the week starting 27th March 2023.

Applications are welcome from internal candidates who would like to apply for the role on the basis of a secondment from their current role in the University.

Flexible working requests would be considered.

We particularly welcome applications from women and candidates from a BME background for this vacancy as they are currently under-represented at this level in our University.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

If you have any queries regarding the application process please contact Anastasia Nezhentseva at (an286@cam.ac.uk)

Please quote reference PF34957 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

We are looking for a part-time Research Assistant in the Agroecology Group directed by Dr Lynn Dicks, in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge.

The role holder will co-ordinate data collection for an online survey of entomologists, gathering expert judgement on the relative impacts of specific threats to particular insect taxa. They will gain experience running an expert elicitation process at global scale. The results will inform cutting-edge Bayesian models of the current and future status of insect populations worldwide, taking into account multiple sources of evidence and likely to be reported in high impact publications. A background in data processing or communication, with knowledge of global threats to biodiversity, will be helpful.

The successful candidate will join a team based in Zoology with four postdocs and eight PhD students.

The role holder will be required to maintain contact with an international group of entomologists who have agreed to participate in an online survey, based on the Delphi technique. The survey will gather data on expert assessments of how different insect Orders respond to global threats.

The successful candidate will invite experts to join the project, set up an initial online meeting for all participants, send out the survey via email for each round of data collection, answer questions during the survey period, compile responses as they are received, and conduct initial data checks and preliminary analyses. They will interact with other members of the wider Global Insect Threat-Response Synthesis (GLiTRS) project team (https://glitrs.ceh.ac.uk/) involving the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the Natural History Museum, and University College London.

Candidates will need to be highly motivated and develop a good understanding of the survey process and the scientific aims of the project. This will be critical to communicating with survey participants in a timely and effective manner. Close teamwork and a collaborative spirit will be essential. Candidates will report to a team leader based in Zoology and will be mentored by an experienced post-doc.

Interview dates: 16th or 17th February 2023.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available up until 31 August 2023.

Applications are welcome from internal candidates who would like to apply for the role on the basis of a secondment from their current role in the University.

Flexible working requests would be considered.

We particularly welcome applications from candidates from a BME background for this vacancy as they are currently under-represented at this level in our University.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

If you have any queries regarding the application process please contact Anastasia Nezhentseva at (an286@cam.ac.uk)

Please quote reference PF34956 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

Is it the weather or the neighbours? The role of the physical and biotic environment in determining biodiversity distributions.

Species’ niches are constrained by abiotic conditions like climate and land-use, and by biotic interactions like consumption, competition, and facilitation. However, abiotic and biotic conditions do not act in isolation. The interplay between them drives species distributions, abundances, population dynamics, community structure, evolutionary trajectories, and how biodiversity responds to environmental change. I’ll explore new methods, data, and conceptual approaches for measuring biotic and abiotic drivers of biodiversity patterns at local and global scales. I’ll draw on work done by several members of my research group, FABio – Fundamental and Applied Biogeography.

This talk is hybrid - email the organisers for a Zoom link

• Speaker: Regan Early, Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, UK
• Tuesday 07 February 2023, 13:00-14:00
• Venue: Main Zoology Lecture Theatre and online via Zoom - contact organiser for details.
• Series: Behaviour, Ecology & Evolution Seminar Series; organiser: Stephen Pates.

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Modern views on the diversity, functional disparity, and structure of Cambrian ecosystems

The Cambrian Explosion is one of the most significant biotic events in the history of the Earth. During this time, the complexity of interactions between animals as well as with their environments increased rapidly, in turn leading to more complex community structures. Thus, a clear picture of the structure of Cambrian animal communities is integral to understanding the origins of modern ecosystems. However, relatively few Cambrian fossil sites preserve the total animal community, including the most soft-bodied taxa. Additionally, datasets with high stratigraphic resolution, which are necessary to understand fine scale spatiotemporal gradients, are rare. As a result, fundamental aspects of Cambrian community ecology, such as trophic structure and spatial diversity gradients, remain cryptic. In this seminar, I will present recent work delving into the community ecology of Cambrian marine ecosystems through the lens of some of the best preserved fossil sites in the world. First among these is the celebrated Burgess Shale, located in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. For over 100 years, this site has provided unparalleled insights into early animal evolution, but community-scale analyses have been relatively rare. My data shows that the animal communities of the Burgess Shale were highly variable in terms of total diversity, as well as the most abundant ecological modes represented. Further, even localities within the same geological formation have highly distinct fauna, with several indicator species suggesting a degree of species endemism. Broadly, this suggests that some of the earliest complex animal communities were highly variable both spatially and temporally. I then expand the scope of this study to include older Cambrian communities from China, and re-analyze this enlarged dataset through the lens of functional diversity. One of the major results of these analyses is the observation that alpha diversity and functional diversity fluctuate independently of each other, suggesting that typical metrics of biodiversity alone cannot adequately describe the structure of Cambrian communities. Moving forward, integrating more rigorously sampled datasets with time series information and functional traits is necessary to fully understand the ecological dynamics of the earliest complex ecosystems. Further, expanding the temporal scope of this work, particularly to Ediacaran community datasets, is necessary for a more complete understanding of how early animal ecosystems developed.

This talk is hybrid - email the organisers for a Zoom link

• Speaker: Karma Nanglu, Harvard University
• Tuesday 28 February 2023, 13:00-14:00
• Venue: Main Zoology Lecture Theatre and online via Zoom - contact organiser for details.
• Series: Behaviour, Ecology & Evolution Seminar Series; organiser: Stephen Pates.

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Tradeoffs and co-benefits among impacts of contrasting livestock systems Bartlett, Harriet Livestock farming generates some striking externalities; whilst it provides 30% of human dietary protein, it occupies 75% of agricultural land, emits 14-17% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, and uses more antimicrobials than human medicine. Demand for livestock products is high and rising, especially for pork which has quadrupled in the past 50 years. Livestock farming systems vary considerably in the scale of their externalities, but our understanding of how multiple externalities co-vary across contrasting production systems is limited. Research typically focuses on impacts in isolation, and the synergies or tradeoffs among them are assumed. To identify and promote the types of systems that best limit impacts or even carry co-benefits we need to explicitly consider multiple externalities and evaluate them across a wide range of alternative production systems. The main aim of my thesis was to do this for pig production. I recruited, visited, and evaluated over 100 pig farms in the UK and Brazil from those considered to be the most “intensive” through to those certified as Organic. My analyses treat a breed-to-finish system as a datapoint, which may consist of one or several farms (e.g. breeding, rearing and finishing farms). I developed metrics which advanced the quantitative characterisation of farm animal welfare to be compatible with life cycle assessments and to account for both quality of life and the quantity of life years required to produce a unit of product (Chapter 2). I systematically evaluated two externality costs that are commonly perceived to trade off against one another: land use and antimicrobial use (Chapter 3). I found weak evidence of a tradeoff between these externalities but importantly also found several systems characterised by low externality costs in both domains. These systems were spread across different label and husbandry types, and no type was an indicator of systems that performed well in both domains. I built upon these assessments of one or two costs by systematically contrasting the land use, greenhouse gas emissions, antimicrobial use and animal welfare of as many of my UK and Brazilian pig systems as possible (Chapter 4). I found evidence of positive associations between land use and greenhouse gas emissions, and antimicrobial use and poor animal welfare, but tradeoffs between these pairs of externalities - systems with low land use generally had low greenhouse gas emissions, but high antimicrobial use and poor welfare. Again however, I found systems that carried relatively low externality costs in all domains. I 6 conclude that contrary to prevailing wisdom, tradeoffs among these externalities are not inevitable. In parallel with this detailed work on pig production, I explored the viral zoonotic emerging infectious disease risks of contrasting ways of meeting livestock product demand (Chapter 5). Analyses to date typically ignore how land use affects emerging infectious disease risks. I created a framework that considered risk factors associated with livestock management and land use. I identified significant knowledge gaps and argued these shortfalls in understanding mean we cannot currently determine whether lower- or higher-yielding systems would better limit the risk of future pandemics. My findings challenge many commonly held perceptions about the externalities of farming systems and have important implications for mitigation strategies. My work illustrates the importance of using empirical evidence rather than relying on patchily supported assumptions. I believe that this warrants the systematic testing of other assumed relationships among externalities. I addressed some important knowledge gaps for the pork sector, and more broadly for emerging infectious disease risks, but the same must be done on a much larger scale, spanning other externalities and sectors.

Birds on a tree: Progress and challenges of whole-genome phylogenomics

An understanding of the evolutionary relationships among organisms underlies most of what we do in evolutionary biology. Despite considerable progress fueled by new approaches and ever larger datasets, the phylogenetic relationships of some groups are still clouded in uncertainty. A prime example are modern birds, Neoaves, whose relationships remain recalcitrant despite decades of inquiry. As part of the Bird 10,000 Genome Project (B10K), we aimed for a new take on the neoavian phylogeny using whole-genome-wide assessments based on 363 bird genomes. I will discuss which progress this has brought about, and which groups remain challenging to resolve. The sources of these persistent discordances seem to be rooted in a diversity of technical and biological sources. The whole-genome-wide phylogenetic approach points the way for the role of phylogenomics in the coming era of genomes for every living thing.

This talk is hybrid - email the organisers for a Zoom link

• Speaker: Josefin Stiller, University of Copenhagen
• Tuesday 07 March 2023, 13:00-14:00
• Venue: Main Zoology Lecture Theatre and online via Zoom - contact organiser for details.
• Series: Behaviour, Ecology & Evolution Seminar Series; organiser: Stephen Pates.

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We seek a highly motivated post-doctoral researcher to join a multi-disciplinary team in the new Centre for Landscape Regeneration (CLR) to develop a land-use scenario modelling framework to explore how combinations of management interventions and regimes across landscapes affect biodiversity recovery and ecosystem service provision for a range of human needs.

You will join a collaborative team consisting of Professor Andrew Balmford of the Department of Zoology and Drs Richard Bradbury, Rob Field and Tom Finch and a parallel post-doctoral researcher at the RSPB. You will work with scientists, farmers and land managers, local and regional government and resource managers to identify how contrasting management regimes across a landscape could contribute to biodiversity restoration and climate change mitigation, while simultaneously meeting societal needs in the East Anglian fens. You will then transfer this framework to other target landscapes in the Lake District and the Cairngorms. The postholder will be based in the David Attenborough Building in Cambridge and will be expected to work from there at least three days per week.

You will be self-motivated and able to work efficiently to meet deadlines and in collaboration with external organisations and individuals. You will hold a PhD in a relevant subject and have effective written and verbal communication skills. You will have the ability to communicate with a range of audiences and be able to curate, analyse and interpret large and complex data sets to peer-reviewed standards of scrutiny and audit.

You should have demonstrable skills and experience in conservation/land-use ecology and at least one of the following areas:

• Impacts of land use on biodiversity
• Soil science and hydrology
• Climate change mitigation within the land sector
• Atmospheric greenhouse gas flux modelling
• Land economy/agricultural economics
• Spatial scenario modelling

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available up until 30 January 2027 in the first instance, with a possibility of extension up to 30 March 2027 subject of project status and funding.

Applications are welcome from internal candidates who would like to apply for the role on the basis of a secondment from their current role in the University.

Interviews will be held on 6 February 2023 and may be conducted remotely.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

If you have any queries regarding the application process please contact Anastasia Nezhentseva at (an286@cam.ac.uk)

Please quote reference PF34790 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.