E v o l D i r

December 1, 2012 EvolDir 45
Fenton (Dept of Evolution, Ecology & Behaviour) Dr
Kieran Sharkey (Dept of Mathematical Sciences)
There is great interest in the community context of
host-parasite associations - hosts and parasites are not
isolated, but are embedded within wider ecological communities.
This leads to various important questions:
How do alternative hosts affect parasite dynamics?
How do parasites alter the stability of the wider community?
To help address these questions we need a general
theory of the community context of host-parasite
interactions.
This studentship will develop such a theoretical framework.
First, motivated by a recently-obtained NERC
grant, in which we manipulate natural multihostparasite
communities, the student will develop simple
community sub-models to explore how differential host
susceptibility and parasite transmission mode interact
to shape multihost-parasite dynamics. Second, motivated
by on-going large-scale community-wide surveys,
the student will use network theory to explore how parasites
spread through, and alter the stability of, ecological
communities. This general framework will greatly
aid data interpretation, and provide insight into the potential
impact of parasites on ecological communities.
The student will work closely with ecologists working
on natural host-parasite communities, and mathematicians
with expertise in network theory, and so will receive
training in both theoretical and empirical hostparasite
ecology. Furthermore, they will be part of a diverse
and active research environment, both within Liverpool
University and collaborating institutions (Universities
of Edinburgh and Zurich). The project would
particularly suit a student with strengths in mathematical
or computational biology, and network and/or ecological
theory.
This studentship is fully funded for UK residents, but
fees only for EU citizens. For informal enquiries please
contact Dr Andy Fenton (a.fenton@liverpool.ac.uk).
Applicants should send a CV, cover letter and contact
details of two academic referees to Mrs Linda Marsh
(biolres@liverpool.ac.uk).
Dr Andy Fenton Institute of Integrative Biology Biosciences
Building Crown Street University of Liverpool
Liverpool L69 7ZB Tel: 0151 795 4473 Fax: 0151 795
4408 http://www.liv.ac.uk/integrative-biology/staff/andrew-fenton/
A.Fenton@liverpool.ac.uk
UManchester ModellingEvolution
PhD available at the University of Manchester
Darwinian evolution is often assumed to be inherently
competitive, frequently characterized by the adage
the survival of the fittest. However, individuals do
not always operate as adversaries and cooperation is
widespread in many animals. Humans show innate predispositions
to be moral and prosocial, and these tendencies
give rise to complex societies organized by social
and political institutions. Group living animals can also
be highly prosocial, as evidenced by cooperative breeding,
coalitionary support, consolation following conflict,
social grooming and even policing of conflict. Explaining
the evolution cooperation remains one of the great
problems for evolutionary biology, as it does not fit with
the notion of selfish individuals and genes.
In evolutionary game theory, population structuring
has been shown to have strong impacts on the stability
of cooperation. However, such models have historically
used theoretical population structure rather than variation
in group structure derived from observed networks
of interactions in animals. We have shown that group
structure in primates is highly conserved over evolutionary
time, which raises the question of whether these
group structures are important promoters of stable cooperation.
This project will use agent-based models to explore how
variation in animal social networks impact on the stability
of cooperation. These models will simulate individual
decisions about whether to cooperate, or not, with
others based both on the benefits of cooperation and
patterns of interactions across different group structures.
These models will also explicitly incorporate
individual characteristics such as dominance, learning
strategies, and enforcement behavior (i.e. punishment
and policing).
If interested, please send an enquiry with a c.v. to
susanne.shultz@manchester.ac.uk Funding Notes: For
full information on how to apply for this project, please
visit www.manchester.ac.uk/dtpstudentships Applications
are invited from UK/EU students only. Applicants
must have obtained, or be about to obtain, at
least an upper second class honours degree in a relevant
subject.
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