<html><body><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000"><div>Hi all --</div><div>Here's an ad for a studentship in my lab in Montpellier, but this time to work on small heath butterflies in the Alps. <br></div><div>Please distribute widely. Deadline is quite soon. </div><div>Best regards<br data-mce-bogus="1"></div><div>Mathieu<br data-mce-bogus="1"></div><div>--<br data-mce-bogus="1"></div><div><br data-mce-bogus="1"></div><div>PhD Studentship - Adaptation and speciation in Alpine butterflies - CEFE-CNRS Montpellier France<br><br>A fully-funded 3-year PhD studentship is available at the CNRS Centre for Evolutionary and Functional Ecology (CEFE) in Montpellier, France, supervised by Mathieu Joron, on the modes of diversification of an alpine butterfly species complex along the altitudinal gradient.<br><br>Application deadline: 11 April 2021.<br><br>Starting date: between June and November 2021.<br><br>Announcement and application details (CNRS portal): https://bit.ly/3ltsIbK<br>Information and enquiry: mathieu.joron@cefe.cnrs.fr, https://joron.cefe.cnrs.fr<br><br>Detailed announcement: <br><br>The proposed work is part of a collaborative project to investigate the modes of diversification of an alpine butterfly species complex along the altitudinal gradient. Our goal is to identify the mechanisms underlying the repeated evolution of reproductive barriers among closely-related species adapted to different altitudinal niches, but still interconnected by gene-flow. Co-investigators are Laurence Després at University of Grenoble and Claire Lemaitre at INRIA Rennes, and their associated teams.<br><br>The student will be in charge of characterising phenotypic variation for traits involved in reproductive isolation and in adaptation to altitude, in order to understand their role in the diversification of this complex. Chemical, morphological, physiological or life history traits can be assumed to play a role in this adaptive radiation, and may be investigated using a combination of experimental and analytical approaches. Another aim is to identifying the genomic regions associated with variation at those traits to understand the genomic and genetic architecture of adaptation and speciation. <br><br>We are looking for a highly motivated student with great academic achievement, a clear interest and top-level education in evolutionary ecology and population genetics, independent thinking and experience with field ecology and/or experimental approaches. Independence and motivation are essential to successfully carry out challenging field and experimental work. The project allows for much flexibility in the questions tackled by the student, depending on her/his interest, skills, and ideas. <br><br>The studentship is funded by an ANR grant for collaborative research and the student will join a lively consortium of teams whose research combines experimental ecology, population genomics, and bioinformatics. The student will be based at CEFE in Montpellier, with summer field work in the Alps.<br><br>The CEFE is the largest ecology lab in France and a major institute for evolutionary ecology and genetics worldwide. Our group focuses on butterfly ecology and genomes to decipher how diversity is shaped by natural selection and other processes. Montpellier is a major hotspot for evolutionary and environmental research and has a vibrant scientific community with several hundred researchers in biological sciences and biodiversity, and highly praised graduate programmes. The University of Montpellier ranked 1st worldwide in the 2018 Shanghai ranking in Ecology. Montpellier lies near the Mediterranean region in the South of France and enjoys pleasant weather, fantastic nature and great cultural and city life.<br><br>Starting date should be as soon as possible but no later than the end of 2021. Net salary is around 20.5K€/year, including social benefits and public health insurance.<br><br>Application deadline: 11 April 2021 <br><br>Applications should be done through the CNRS portal. Link : https://bit.ly/3ltsIbK. Applicants should upload (1) an application letter explaining their motivation and achievements and including a paragraph on the preferred questions or approaches they would like to focus on during the project, an d (2) a full CV, including academic transcripts and contact details of two references. <br><br><br>For information and informal enquiry, please contact Mathieu Joron (Mathieu.joron@cefe.cnrs.fr). Website : https://joron.cefe.cnrs.fr<br><br></div><div><br></div><div data-marker="__SIG_PRE__">--<br>Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE)<br>CNRS, 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier 5, France<br>https://joron.cefe.cnrs.fr +33 (0)4-67-61-32-03.</div></div></body></html>