Job description
The Insect Ecology Group is looking for highly motivated PhD students to join their research team. The principal topics of the research group are insect ecology, evolution, conservation and ecophysiology. Candidates with similar a background and interests will be prioritised. We offer fully funded positions covering up to 4 years of study. The PhD students will be rewarded with a monthly net income of 14,000-25,000 CZK (the income will increase in the course of the study), which fully covers a student life in Prague (for comparison, the median gross salary in Czechia is ca. 28,000 CZK per month).
The following topics are ready to be explored:
1. Effects of landscape structure on distribution of insect assemblages and ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes
Requirements: The candidate should have a good background in insect ecology, agroecology and statistics, experience with R language and be fluent in English.
Summary: The recent decline of European insect populations is partly caused by agricultural intensification in last ca. 70 years. As several recent studies indicate, landscape simplification is on of the main drivers of the reduction in local insect diversity. As insects are important providers of ecosystem services (pest predation and parasitism, weed seed predation, pollination, etc.), links between abundance and diversity of beneficial insects and landscape structure should be investigated in the course of the study. Specifically, we are interested in management strategies for improving agricultural landscapes, e.g., creation of non-crop habitats within arable fields, and its impacts on insect assemblages and ecosystem service provision.
2. Sexual differences in insect longevity: experimental and meta-analytic approaches
Requirements: The candidate should have a strong background in evolutionary biology and/or insect life histories, have experience in R language (knowledge on meta-analytic tools are welcome), have at least basic experience with laboratory rearing of insects and be fluent in English.
Summary: Evolutionary drivers of insect life span are not well understood. This research collates available data on insect life span and examines its relationship to various species traits. Specifically, we are interested in sex differences in insect life span and the mechanisms underlying these differences. The research combines meta-analytic studies using published data and experimental studies based on original laboratory experiments. Laboratory experiments will focus on life span comparison in ladybirds in a phylogenetic framework and sex-specific effects of mating regime on life span.
3. Thermal biology of ladybirds: effects of climate change on overwintering success
Requirements: The candidate should have a strong background in ecology and thermal biology, be experienced in R language, have at least basic experience with laboratory rearing of insects and be fluent in English.
Summary: The ongoing climate change affects all organisms including insects. Most studies investigate effects of increased temperature during the growing season (summer) and thus the effects of increased winter temperatures remain less understood. In this study, we will expose overwintering ladybirds to a wide range of thermal conditions using a combination of laboratory and field experiments. Besides the effects of temperature, also the importance of humidity will be explored. As several ladybird species overwinter in large aggregations (up to thousands of individuals), specific attention will be paid to the role of aggregative behaviour for overwintering success.
4. Interactions between parasitoids and their ladybird hosts: the case of Dinocampus coccinellae
Requirements: The candidate should have a strong background in evolutionary biology and insect ecology, be experienced in R language, have at least basic experience with laboratory rearing of insects and be fluent in English.
Summary: Dinocampus coccinellae is a braconid wasp with a cosmopolitan distribution parasitizing more than 50 ladybird species, including one of the most invasive insect species worldwide, Harmonia axyridis. Despite H. axyridis was previously considered as a sub-optimal host, we recently revealed high parasitism rates in this species in Central Europe. This study will explore geographical patterns of H. axyridis suitability for D. coccinellae. In addition, coevolution between D. coccinellae and various host species (e.g., the existence of local adaptations), and underlying mechanisms (e.g., interactions between parasitoid larvae and host’s immune system) will be investigated.
5. Butterfly conservation in anthropogenic habitats: the case of the Chapman's blue (Polyommatus thersites)
Requirements: The candidate should have a strong background in nature conservation, insect ecology and evolution, be experienced in R language (knowledge on capture-recapture or phylogeographic analyses is an advantage), have at least basic field experience with butterflies and be fluent in English.
Summary: Recent changes in management of European landscapes resulted in the disappearance of rare insects and the decline of previously common species. The Chapman's blue, Polyommatus thersites, was very common in Czech Republic ca. 50 years ago, but now only few populations survive. Recently, we established a new (re-introduced) population in Prague and the project will investigate basic population parameters of this population and the effects of specific habitat management (creation and mowing of Onobrychis patches) on other (non-focal) insect species. In addition, we will compare the genetic diversity of the re-introduced population with persisting natural populations and investigate the phylogeography of P. thersites in Europe (the species is recently abundant mainly in Southern Europe).
How to apply
Please send your full application as a single PDF document (up to 10 MB) by email to Michal Knapp (knapp@fzp.czu.cz; the deadline is March 15, 2025). The document should include:
- The research topic you are applying for
- Cover letter describing your motivation and your qualification for the research topic (up to 1 page)
- List of 7 scientific papers that you consider as the most inspiring for the research topic (the selection is completely up to you) + short comment to each paper (3-4 sentences) describing WHY it is so inspiring/influential for you.
- Your CV (up to 1 page)
- Copy of your Diploma + Diploma supplement (Transcript of records) or date of defence of your thesis. If the thesis resulted into a manuscript of scientific paper, please attach it as well.
- Contact details of your diploma thesis supervisor. You can also include the evaluation of your thesis (if it is already defended).
Questions/more details
Please, visit our website for information about PhD studies at the Faculty. For more information, do not hesitate to contact Petra Kadlecova phdstudies@fzp.czu.cz (questions related to the administrative process) or Michal Knapp knapp@fzp.czu.cz (details about research topics).
Selection of candidates
In the first round, your motivation and qualification for the research topic will be evaluated on the basis of your application. The results of the first round will be announced as soon as possible and the candidates selected for the second round will have an interview (personal or via Skype).
About the employer
The Faculty of Environmental Science (FES) is the leading body of university education, research, development and expert activities in the environmental - ecological field. At FES we are open to new ideas and will not hesitate to support promising projects and their young researchers. We understand the needs of doctoral students, and we therefore offer them a wide range of professional support:
- scholarship system based on student performance, including rewards for publishing,
- possibility of financing projects from faculty resources and the university grant agency,
- reimbursement of costs associated with publishing scientific outputs,
- financial participation of faculty for active participation in conferences,
- a rich offer of internships and study trips,
- accommodation in dormitories on the university campus,
- free access to specialized databases (Web of Science, etc.),
- use of excellently-equipped laboratories and state of the art scientific equipment and software.