PhD Studentship | EcoCareers.ie

Employer:?Queen?s University Belfast
Location: Belfast
Job Type:?PhD Studentship
Duration:?3 years
Salary:??13,726 p.a. plus tuition fees
Closing Date:?12 February 2013?

Project Description:?

DEL Strategic Studentship in?Geography/Environmental Change

Queen?s University Belfast, School of Geography, Archaeology?& Palaeoecology ? Environmental Change Research Cluster

The School of Geography, Archaeology & Palaeoecology (GAP) at Queen?s University Belfast invites applications from suitably qualified students for a fully-funded (fees and maintenance) Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) Strategic PhD studentship:

Project Title: ?Tracking eutrophication in UK lakes: the potential of testate amoebae?

Start Date: 1^st?October 2013
End Date:?30th September 2016
First Supervisor:?Dr Helen Roe, QUB
Co-Supervisor: Dr Helen Bennion?(External),?Environmental Change Research Centre (ECRC), University College London
Co-supervisory panel / advisors:
Dr Chris Harrod, School of Biological Sciences, QUB
Dr Carl Sayer, ECRC, University College London

1. Rationale

The need to ensure that lakes achieve ?good ecological status? is a pressing theme in the implementation of the EU?s Water Framework Directive. However, assessment of the patterns and impacts of water-quality change pose many challenges, reflecting deficiencies in the quality of monitoring data and a lack of understanding of the degradation and recovery pathways shown by aquatic communities to nutrient loading.

This PhD will focus on testate amoebae (Rhizopoda, Arcellacea), a group of unicellular protozoans that occur widely in moist soils, wetlands, and other fresh and brackish water environments, including lakes. In recent years, these shelled micro-organisms, which are straightforward to identify and have high preservation potential, have been the subject of intensive study, particularly in ombrotrophic peatlands, where they have been established as important palaeoclimate indicators (e.g. Charman et al., 2007; Swindles et al., 2009). In contrast, few environment-linked distributional studies have been undertaken with the group in lakes. It is nevertheless known that in lakes they are sensitive to changes in temperature, substrate, organic content, pH and metal contamination amongst other variables. Moreover, recent work based on modern lake sediment samples from Ontario, Canada has shown that the group have considerable potential for tracking nutrient enrichment, and preliminary transfer functions have been developed to reconstruct testate amoeba-inferred nutrient changes from cores (Roe et al., 2010; Patterson et al., 2012).

This PhD will build on this work by examining testate amoeba assemblages from sediment cores from selected lakes across the UK, all of which have an observed or other proxy-inferred history of trophic status change. This will facilitate direct quantitative comparisons between proxies and provide an important foundation for cross-validation of proxy-based inference models.

2. Specific aims:

• To provide new insights into the ecology and distribution of testate amoebae in selected UK lakes
• through the analysis of fossil and modern samples;
• To examine changes in trophic status in these lakes through time via the refinement and
• application of testate amoeba-based transfer functions and other quantitative approaches;
• To critically appraise the utility of testate amoebae as water quality indicators in lakes through
• direct quantitative comparison with diatom and other biological proxy data from the same samples;
• To provide an enhanced understanding of the character, causes and impacts of nutrient loading
• on lake communities.

3. Wider significance:

Eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems, principally induced by nutrients from agricultural sources, industrial waste and domestic sewage, is recognized as a global unresolved environmental problem threatening the quality of surface waters (Smol, 2002). The development of new proxy-based methodologies that can aid in understanding the complex responses shown by lake communities to eutrophication, and which can facilitate long-term analysis of trends well beyond the period of instrumental records have many benefits to limnology and environmental conservation and management. These include determining ?reference conditions?, setting restoration targets, and assessing ?ecological health? to conform with European legislation (cf. Bennion et al., 2011).

4. Methodological approach:

The study will focus on recent (ca. last 300 year) sediment cores already collected from selected lakes across the UK. These all have a measured or diatom-inferred history of water quality change and several also have palaeoecological data for other biological groups including plant macrofossils and Cladocera. Chronologies have already been established, principally via 210-Lead dating. Analysis of cores from both open water sites and marginal sites will facilitate assessment of the role of water depth on the faunal assemblages, whilst the analysis of additional surface samples and water and sediment property data from selected lakes will provide further insights into modern Arcellacean ecology and aid in the refinement of existing transfer functions for studying water quality change.

Approximately eight short (c. 1 m) cores will be selected for study from a shortlist of lowland sites where material is archived at UCL and QUB. These include: Cunswick Tarn, Cumbria; Blickling Lake, Barningham Broad, Hickling Broad and Wolterton Broad, Norfolk; Hatch Mere, Cheshire; Groby Pool, Leicestershire; Monzievaird, nr Crieff, White Loch, Perthshire, Loch Leven, Kinross, Scotland; Lough Neagh and Lough Erne, Northern Ireland. Since lake testate amoebae can be examined relatively rapidly and do not require chemical preparation, sampling will be at high resolution (at least every 2-3 cm), with additional sampling around key transitions.

5. Research techniques:

The study will primarily involve testate amoebae analysis, although additional diatom or plant macrofossil analyses may also be undertaken to supplement existing records. Grain-size and other appropriate geochemical analyses will also be undertaken to further aid in understanding faunal distribution. If required, additional dating of the older parts of the sediment profiles will be established using AMS 14C dating. Standard ordination and other statistical approaches will be applied.

6. Analytical and other support

Training in testate amoebae identification, diatom analysis and other appropriate geochemical analyses will be provided. If 14C AMS dates are required to study older parts of the core records, the student will be trained in AMS sample pre-preparation in the School?s CHRONO Dating Laboratory.

7. Project alignment with School research

This project will complement and enhance ongoing work being undertaken by the lead supervisor on testate amoaba ecology in lakes and other wetland environments. The external supervisors will bring significant additional expertise through their knowledge of other limnic proxies, particularly diatoms, the study sites and environmental degradation in lakes. The student will join the School?s Environmental Change research cluster, which includes an active group of staff and postgraduates working with a wide range of biological and other proxies in lakes and other environments, including pollen, plant macrofossils, diatoms and beetles.

8. Special requirements:

The successful applicant will have a strong grounding in Quaternary environmental change, palaeolimnology, ecology or a related subject at undergraduate and/or Masters level. Some prior experience in microfossil analysis (particularly testate amoebae or diatoms) and data handling are desirable.

9. Further information:

Interested candidates should contact Dr Helen Roe for further information: h.roe@qub.ac.uk

10. References:

• Bennion, H., Battarbee, R. W., Sayer, C. D., Simpson, G. L., Davidson, T.A. (2011) Defining reference conditions and restoration targets for lake ecosystems using palaeolimnology: a synthesis. Journal of Paleolimnology, 45, 533-544.
• Charman, D.J., Blundell, A., Alm, J., Bartlett, S., Begeot, C., Blaauw, M., Chambers, F., Daniell, J., Evershed, R., Hunt, J., et al (2007). A new European testate amoebae transfer function for palaeohydrological reconstruction on ombrotrophic peatlands. Journal of Quaternary?Science, 22(3), 209-221.
• Patterson, R.T., Roe, H.M., Swindles, G.T. (2012). Development of a thecamoebian (testate lobose amoebae) based transfer function for sedimentary phosphorous in lakes. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 348-349, 32-44.
• Roe, H.M., Patterson, R.T., Swindles, G.T. (2010). Controls on the contemporary distribution of lake thecamoebians (testate amoebae) in the Greater Toronto Area and their potential as water quality indicators. Journal of Paleolimnology, 43(4), 123-140.
• Roe, H.M., Patterson, R.T. (2006). Distribution of thecamoebians (testate amoebae) in small lakes and ponds, Barbados, West Indies.?Journal of Foraminiferal Research, 36(2), 116-134.
• Smol, J. P. ( 2002) Pollution of Lakes and Rives. A Paleoenvironmental Perspective. Arnold, London, 280 pp.
• Swindles, G.T., Roe, H.M., Charman, D.J., Sansum, P.A. (2009). Environmental controls on peatland testate amoebae (Protozoa: Rhizopoda) in the North of Ireland: implications for paleoclimate studies. Journal of Paleolimnology, 42(1), 123-140.

Required:

Students should have a minimum of a 2.1 or equivalent (Hons) Degree and/or a Postgraduate qualification in a relevant field. Prospective applicants should also discuss the projects with the supervisor (Dr Helen Roe) before submitting their applications and also must be prepared to attend an interview held in the School of Geography, Archaeology & Palaeoecology after shortlisting.

Eligibility:

All students must fulfil relevant DEL eligibility criteria. DEL Studentships are available only to students from the UK and the EU, due to funding restrictions; EU students must fulfil a residency requirement to be eligible for full awards or may be eligible for a fees only studentship. DEL Studentship stipends have been set to ?13,726 per annum (pa) for 2013-14, plus tuition fees. For further information on DEL doctoral funding, terms and conditions and eligibility please see:

http://www.qub.ac.uk/home/Research/PostgraduateCentre/PostgraduateAwards/ProspectiveStudents/LocalUKApplicants/ResearchFundingAvailableforUKandEUApplicants/DepartmentforEmploymentLearningDELResearch/

Application process:

We strongly encourage informal contact be made with the nominated supervisor(s) regarding details of the project, and GAP?s Postgraduate Co-ordinator Dr Nicki Whitehouse (n.whitehouse@qub.ac.uk) for queries on general application procedures and assessment. The application process involves submitting, via Queen?s University postgraduate application portal, a written research proposal (1000 words, in applicant?s own words), together with a CV and covering letter, all of which must be uploaded via the portal as a single document. Further guidance can be found here:

http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/gap/ProspectiveStudents/PostgraduateStudies/PhDProjects2012-2013/

Please note all applications should be formally undertaken via the QUB online application portal:

http://www.qub.ac.uk/home/StudyatQueens/

Applications must include a proposal written by the applicant (ie not a verbatim copy of the project proposal document) that demonstrates the applicant?s knowledge and understanding of the proposed project. Applicants must include a covering letter where they map their own experience/education/interests onto the specific project. As well as these two key documents other standard applicant details, such as CV, educational qualifications, transcripts, references, etc also need to be uploaded via the QUB portal. Applicants should read the university postgraduate application guidelines carefully.

Once the application deadline has closed, ranking of PhD applications will be undertaken taking into account the quality of the applicant?s submitted research proposal and the qualifications and relevant experience of candidates. Top-ranked applicants and proposals will be short-listed for interview; interviewed students will be ranked and recommendations for the funding allocation made.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of the selection process by mid March 2013.

Further information:

Further information on the School and our research can be found at: http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/gap/

For further information please contact:

Dr Nicki J. Whitehouse, School of GAP Postgraduate (Research) Coordinator
School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology
Queen?s University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. BT7 1NN.
n.whitehouse@qub.ac.uk
Tel. 00 44 (0)28 9097 3978

Accessed:?09/02/2013

Source: http://www.ecocareers.ie/2013/02/09/phd-studentship-4/

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