Two fully-funded PhD scholarships are available to study the evolution of
freeze-tolerant alpine insects at Massey University Manawatû New Zealand.

Many different alpine insects in Aotearoa/New Zealand have converged
on the same unusual evolutionary strategy for surviving the cold; they
freeze solid and survive. Eating the right microbes can change how and
when insects freeze, potentially providing benefits that are shared by
unrelated host species. These projects will determine whether three NZ
alpine insect species have independently arrived at the same solution
by each producing their own unique species-specific ice nucleating agent
(classical convergent evolution), or whether they all employ the same gut
microbes to do the job (horizontal transfer). Some further information
is available in this review paper: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/14/1/89

The research will require collecting alpine insects, manipulating natural
gut microbes, measuring temperature of crystallisation, and generating
and analysing DNA and RNA sequences.

The scholarship: A tax-free living allowance stipend of NZ$30,000 per
annum for 3 years, plus tuition fees paid for 3 years.

Start date: March 2025 or soon after.

Location: The successful applicant will join the School of Food Technology
and Natural Sciences on the Manawatû campus of Massey University,
Palmerston North, NEW ZEALAND. Massey University is a smoke-free work
environment.

Research Group: Te Taha Tawhiti [https://evolves.massey.ac.nz]
resides within the Wildlife & Ecology Group. Lead researchers are Mary
Morgan-Richards and Steve Trewick.

Admission criteria & candidate requirements: You'll need a good first
degree from an internationally recognised university; minimum upper second
class Hons or a Master's degree in an appropriate subject.  You should
have a background in Ecology/Biology/Evolution/Entomology, good statistics
skills (preferably R) and an interest in evolution and microbiomes.

How to Apply
In the first instance we encourage you to contact us by email to discuss
your interest: m.morgan-richards@massey.ac.nz

M.Morgan-Richards@massey.ac.nz

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