Seeking PhD Student: how vulnerable are inshore dolphins to infectious disease outbreaks?

The Cetacean Ecology, Behaviour and Evolution Lab (CEBEL) at Flinders University, South Australia, is seeking a domestic student (Australian citizens; or permanent residents of Australia; or New Zealand citizens) for one PhD position.

Project summary: We are seeking a PhD student to work on an exciting new project looking at how vulnerable Australian inshore dolphins are to the spread of infectious diseases. The emergence of

infectious diseases in the marine environment is of increasing concern for marine mammals. Among the species most at risk are inshore and estuarine species as coastal ecosystems have become reservoirs of infectious pathogens from human and animal waste. This study aims to use novel social affiliation and network-disease modelling approaches to assess how vulnerable are threatened Australian inshore dolphins  to infectious disease outbreaks and to investigate the potential effectiveness of vaccination strategies. The project will draw upon comprehensive 2-3 year photo-identification studies carried out by our lab on Australian snubfin (Orcaella heinsohni), humpback (Sousa sahulensis) and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus). In addition to these data, the student will have the opportunity to collect new data during the project as part of ongoing research. The expected results of this project will advance our understanding of disease transmission in highly social mammals such as dolphins; and provide insights into the potential effectiveness of vaccinations as an effective method for limiting the spread of diseases in dolphin populations.

About CEBEL: This PhD project will be based at The Cetacean Ecology, Behaviour and Evolution Lab at Flinders University, South Australia. You will be supervised by Associate Professors Guido J. Parra and Luciana Moller. The Cetacean Ecology, Behaviour and Evolution Lab (CEBEL) at Flinders University is a multi-disciplinary group working at the interface of animal behaviour, population ecology and evolutionary biology. By emphasizing links between these research areas CEBEL aims to gain an understanding of the ecological and behavioural processes shaping whale and dolphin populations. Since its establishment in 2010, CEBEL has grown into one of the leading and most productive groups of marine mammal research in Australia, with over 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals, and over $3 million US in research funds. Our work is highly cited and has provided environmental policy advice to governments, non-governmental organizations and industry on whale and dolphin conservation issues.

Applicants Qualifications: Candidates must have completed an Australian bachelor's degree with First Class Honours (H1) or high 2A (or equivalent) in biology, physiology, animal behaviour, ecology, statistics, epidemiology or a related field. The successful candidate will have a strong working knowledge of wildlife and/or marine ecology, excellent verbal and written communication skills, and strong quantitative and programming skills including but not limited to social network analyses of animal association data and R programming language. We are interested in attracting creative, pro-active, highly motivated, independent and team player minded students who will integrate well in the lab.

Application Instructions:

Australia's borders are currently closed and entry to Australia remains strictly controlled to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Due to current COVID-19 travel restrictions, we are only accepting domestic (Australian citizens; or permanent residents of Australia; or New Zealand citizens) applications.

To apply for this PhD position, the applicant should send the following documents to Guido J. Parra by email (guido.parra@flinders.edu.au):

• A cover letter or statement of purpose highlighting what motivates your research, your short and long-term career goals, and which component of the project interests you most.
• A curriculum vitae / resume that outlines your academic and professional experience.
• A sample of your writing. This could be either a copy of your honours thesis, MSc thesis, or a peer review publication.
• Copies of your academic transcript as well as your undergraduate Grade Point Average (GPA).
• Names and email addresses of 2 references.

 

Application deadline is September 20, 2021. We will review applications and contact the top candidates to set up a time to chat by Microsoft Teams/Zoom. Strong candidates will then be invited to apply through the official Flinders University admissions process to compete for an Australian Research/Flinders University Research Scholarship, which pays an indexed stipend of $28,897 p.a. tax free (2021 rate) and  covers tuition fees charged by the university for up to four years. The closing date for these scholarships is 31-10-2021. If successful, you will start in February-March 2022.

For more information, please contact Guido J. Parra (guido.parra@flinders.edu.au).

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Guido J. Parra, PhD
Associate Professor | College of Science and Engineering
Research leader | Cetacean Ecology, Behaviour and Evolution Lab (CEBEL)
Staff: http://www.flinders.edu.au/people/guido.parra

@GuidoJParra | @CEBELresearch |

GoogleScholar | ResearchGate | LinkedIn

Flinders University, GPO Box 2100 Adelaide, SA 5001 Australia

Tel: +61 8 8201 3565|email: guido.parra@flinders.edu.au 

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