Genetic components to division of labor in ant societies
Application deadline: January 20th, 2018
Behavioral division of labor in ant societies stems from workers differing in their likelihood and efficiency to perform specific tasks (e.g., foraging for food or nursing the brood). However, many factors and mechanisms regulating such differences remain to be identified and understood. The Libbrecht group at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz (Germany) is offering a 3-year PhD position (German Research Foundation, fully funded, 65% TVL E13) to study the genetic effects on worker behavior in the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile). The research will include ant collection in the field, controlled crosses in the lab, behavioral experiments, ant dissections, molecular biology techniques and RNA sequencing analyses. The student will get hands-on training in experimental design, statistics and bioinformatics.
More information here : These-Libbrecht Mainz 2017
