Supervisors: Richard Phillips (British Antarctic Survey)
Andrea Manica (Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge)
Variability in climatic and oceanographic conditions are key determinants of movement and distribution of marine predators. With the advent of satellite-telemetry and GPS loggers, much is known about the foraging ecology and habitat preferences of seabirds during the breeding season. There have been considerably fewer studies of their movements and behaviour during the nonbreeding period, despite the potential problems associated with increased oceanographic variability arising from global climate change, and the pervasive threat of fisheries bycatch. Although declines in many albatrosses have been attributed to bycatch, it is often difficult to determine which fisheries are responsible. Data from fisheries observers on age class, status and sex of bycaught birds is rarely collected and often unreliable, so the level of threat to each life-history category is unknown, despite its importance for understanding the demographic drivers of population change.
In recent years, BAS has amassed a large archive of tracking data from nonbreeding light-mantled, grey-headed, black-browed and wandering albatrosses. Birds were often tracked in multiple consecutive non-breeding periods, and are of known sex, age and breeding history. The sample also includes many related individuals. The student would select from a suite of alternative approaches, including habitat preference models, model-supervised kernel smoothing, generalized additive and state-space models, to identify the key determinants of distribution and activity of nonbreeding albatrosses. The student would also examine evidence for potential carry-over effects, the degree of site fidelity, and heritability of migration strategies.
The student would be registered at the University of Cambridge, and be based both at BAS and in the Dept. of Zoology. University fees and stipend are provided for 3.5 years, in addition to the standard NERC Research and Training Grant. Although there may be an opportunity to visit the field site, the PhD project will be very largely desk-based, involving the application of statistical analyses to large datasets. Applicants should possess (or expect to obtain) at least a 2.1 Class Honours Degree or a MSc. in biology/ecology/GIS/statistics, a strong numerical and statistical background and a good understanding of ecology, and should be eligible for a NERC studentship (see http://www.nerc.ac.uk/funding/available/postgrad/eligibility.asp). An understanding of generalised linear models and experience with statistical packages such as R and GenStat would be extremely useful.
Further information is available from Alison Teague (BAS Student Coordinator), email basstudentoffice@bas.ac.uk. Full applications including a covering letter, CV and the names and e-mail addresses of two academic referees to be sent by e-mail to that address, to arrive no later than 15 October, 2012. Please quote reference number BASDTG/phil/2. Interviews will take place in late October.
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