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Offer: Personality traits and cognitive abilities in captive-bred North African houbara bustard:Job description:Qualification Type: PhD The University of Exeter's College of Life and Environmental Sciences, in partnership withRenecoInternational Wildlife Consultants, is inviting applications for a PhD studentship to commence in March 2022 or as soon as possible thereafter. The studentship is to investigate personality traits and cognitive abilities in a captive-bred population of North African houbara bustards (Chlamydotisundulataundulata). Project Description: The endangered North African houbara bustard (Chlamydotisundulataundulata) has been declining drastically all over its range due to overhunting and habitat degradation. Since the late 90s the species has been the subject of a large-scale captive breedingprogrammeat the Emirates Center for Wildlife Propagation,Missour, with more than 15 000 birds produced annually for release in the wild. The intention of this rearing and release is to restore wild populations and supplement hunting grounds for regulated falconry (http://www.houbarafund.org). Houbaras are bred using an artificial insemination process following a strict genetic management (pedigree-located), designed to increase genetic diversity and avoid inbreeding depression (Rabieret al. 2020, 2021). However, past research (Charge et al. 2013, 2014) and continuing analyses (ESorato) have provided evidence for among-individual differences in sexualbehaviourand life history traits partly connected with origin (captive-bred vs wild-origin individuals), which may arise through genetic adaptation to captivity and parentaleffects..However, the relative extent to which genetic changes and environmental effects may affect personality, cognitive traits, and ultimately fitness in the wild, remains to be explored. The prosperous applicant will investigate the effects of captive-breeding on personality traits, by conductingbehaviouraltests on captive houbaras all over ontogeny. Interplays between personality and individual cognitive abilities (discriminative and reversal learning) will also be explored. By testing individuals with varying known histories of captive breeding, and by using quantitative genetics statistical methods, we will assess the extent of adaptation to captivity and disentangle the relative impact of additive genetic, parental and environmental effects on the main personality axes, and on interplays between personality and cognitive traits. This study will contribute tounravelthe selection forces shaping variation in personality and cognitive traits and will ultimately aid improve conservation breeding of endangered species / houbara bustard. Working environment The project is part of a collaboration between Dr EnricoSorato(RenecoInternational Wildlife Consultants; ECWP) and Dr Joah Madden (Centre for Research in AnimalBehaviour, University of Exeter) investigating thebehavioural, life history and fitness consequences of captive breeding in the houbara bustard. The student will be located inUKat Exeter, supervised by Dr Joah Madden. Fieldwork will take place at the Emirates Center for Wildlife Propagation inMissour, Eastern Morocco, starting in Spring 2022. Besides Morocco, the student will also be expected to spend time at theRenecoHQ in Abu Dhabi, UAE, to conduct data analysis under the supervision of ESorato. Award This award provides annual funding to cover Home or International tuition fees for three years. It is the knowledge of the University of Exeter that the research costs, connected travel and any on-site accommodation plus an annual stipend to a total value of 22,000 Euros/year will be provided directly to the prosperous student byReneco.International candidates need to be aware that you will have to cover the cost of your student visa, healthcare surcharge and other costs of moving to the UK to do a PhD.? Skills:
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