Dear colleagues,

a very interesting PhD project for an entomology-oriented student, please forward to any suitable candidates you might know!

All the best, Heikki

From: Heike Feldhaar heike.feldhaar@uni-bayreuth.de Sent: tiistai 1. kesäkuuta 2021 10.46

Subject: PhD position at U Bayreuth, group Heike Feldhaar (Germany) on interaction networks of ants and termites in dead wood in Ecuadorian rainforest

Dear colleagues,

coud you kindly pass this job offer on to gifted Master-students that are about to finish or have just finished their Master-thesis, are interested in social insects and would be interested to work on the topic below. The PhD will be one position in a larger research consortium.

Interactions between saproxylic insects and consequences for dead wood decomposition (PhD-position; 65% TV-L E13 for four years in the group of Heike Feldhaar, University of Bayreuth, Germany)

Dead wood decomposition plays an important role in nutrient cycling. In the tropics, insects contribute greatly to dead wood decomposition. Here predominantly termites, beetles and ants together with fungi drive the decay process in complex interactions. Since the degradation of tropical forests affects the diversity and abundance of these decomposing organisms, the decomposition process should be affected as well.

We will study community reassembly within dead wood in dependence of wood traits along the forest recovery gradient. We will focus on potential interactions (priortiy effects and potential competitive exclusion) among the different groups of decomposers in shaping the communities using co-occurrence and network analyses. We will conduct an insect exclusion experiment to disentangle the contribution of the different insect groups to the wood decomposition process.

If you are interested check out the attached announcement for more information!

Best wishes,

Heike Feldhaar

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Prof. Dr. Heike Feldhaar

Tierökologie I / Animal Ecology I

Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER)

Universität Bayreuth

95440 Bayreuth

Deutschland / Germany

phone: +49 921 552645