Ph.D. positions in animal navigation – behavioural and physiological mechanisms
Our Volkswagen Nachwuchsgruppe (young research group) focuses on the behavioural, physiological and molecular mechanisms of animal navigation. At the next possible time, we offer 1-2 doctoral student positions (BAT IIa/2) in the field of bird navigation research with a special focus on linking molecular and physiological processes to the orientation behaviour of the whole animal.
The students should focus on following up on our recent findings related to the magnetic compass mechanisms used by migratory birds. In recent years, our group has, in collaboration with several other labs worldwide, for instance
1) showed that at least some birds use a sun-calibrated magnetic compass in midair during natural migratory flights (Science 304: 405-408).
2) identified putative magnetosensory molecules in the retinae of migratory birds (PNAS 101: 14294-14299) .
3) identified a brain area involved in specialised night-vision in night-migratory birds, which seemingly is not found in non-migratory birds and which could be processing light-mediated magnetic and/or star compass information (PNAS 102: 8339-8344),
4) identified a behaviour, head scanning, that migratory birds seem to use to detect the reference direction of the Earth’s magnetic field (Current Biology 14: 1946-1949).
For further detail, see http://www.member. uni-oldenburg. de/henrik. mouritsen/
If you are interested in the area of bird navigation mechanisms, and if you are not afraid of having to learn and use many different techniques spanning from behavioural observation to molecular biology, we would be pleased to receive your application. Reasonable English language skills are also required. Experience in histology techniques (behavioural molecular mapping (like ZENK) including cryo-cutting, staining, etc.), single cell recordings, molecular biology, bird migration etc. would be advantageous.
A masters level education in natural sciences is mandatory.
The group is located at the University of Oldenburg, Germany and will have close connections/ collaboration with several excellent research groups internationally, within Germany and at University of Oldenburg (particularly the neurobiology group of Prof. Reto Weiler). These collaborations will give our group access to a very wide range of superb modern equipment, techniques and expertise.
If this sounds interesting to you, and if you are seriously interested in one of the positions, please send an application including your CV, university certificates, and names, email and addresses of minimum three senior scientists knowing you well as soon as possible to PD Dr. Henrik Mouritsen, Fachbereich 7, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg or to email address: henrik.mouritsen@ uni-oldenburg. de
We will start looking at the applications as soon as they arrive, and will keep looking until the positions are filled. Since we have several additional grant applications running, more positions are likely to become available soon, so highly qualified applications are always welcome.
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