[alife] PhD Studentship in Computational Ecology

[V. Anne Smith]

PhD Studentship in  Computational Ecology

Ecological interaction networks: Application to ongoing field work in Tanzania

Ecosystems consist of a complex web of 
interactions: among species, and between species 
and their environment. Understanding these 
interactions is important for predicting how 
factors - such as biological or chemical control 
agents, grazing pressure, or climate change - may 
affect ecosystem function. However, unravelling 
such complex networks of interactions stretches 
the boundaries of current research; new methods 
are needed to handle the complexity of real 
ecosystems.

This studentship explores the use Bayesian 
networks for revealing ecological interaction 
networks.  You will develop Bayesian network 
algorithms for handling ecological data and 
incorporating spatial information. Methods 
developed will be applied to real ecological 
data, including data collected in an ongoing 
field project in Tanzania. There is opportunity 
for a field season in Tanzania, where you would 
perform targeted manipulation experiments based 
on your models (e.g., targeted removal and 
addition of species within caged areas).

This project will be based in Dr Anne Smith's lab 
at St Andrews and be in collaboration with Dr 
Colin Beale (York University, currently based in 
Tanzania) and Dr Dirk Husmeier (Biomathematics & 
Statistics Scotland). In this studentship, you 
will gain both computational and field skills.

For more details, please contact 
anne.smith at st-andrews.ac.uk and/or visit: 
http://biology.st-andrews.ac.uk/vannesmithlab/

Funding by NERC: UK residents (stipend and fees) or EU citizens (fees only)

A PDF of the above advertisement is downloadable from:
http://biology.st-andrews.ac.uk/vannesmithlab/NERC2010.pdf


-- 
Dr V Anne Smith
School of Biology
Sir Harold Mitchell Building
University of St Andrews
St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH
United Kingdom
+44 (0)1334-463368
anne.smith at st-andrews.ac.uk
biology.st-andrews.ac.uk/vannesmithlab/

The University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland : No SC013532î