"Towering behavior and collective dispersal in nematode groups, PhD student (m/f/d), 100%: The Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior at its sites in Konstanz and Radolfzell offers an international, interdisciplinary, and collaborative environment that opens up unique research opportunities. The goal of our basic research is to develop a quantitative and predictive understanding of the decisions and movements of animals in their natural environment. The Genes and Behavior Research Group at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior would like to fill the following position with a starting date as soon as possible. This position is fully funded for a period of 3 years with the possibility of a 1-year extension. The workplace will be in Konstanz, Germany. Our group The student will join the Genes and Behavior research group led by Dr. Serena Ding. The Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the University of Konstanz together form a thriving research community representing a global hotspot for collective behavior, including the Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior. The student will join the International Max Planck Research School for Quantitative Behavior, Ecology and Evolution from lab to field (IMPRS-QBEE), a cooperative doctoral program between the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the University of Konstanz. Project details How animals choose between individual versus collective behavioral strategies, how they execute the behavior from a mechanistic point of view, and how they navigate the cooperative versus competitive social dynamics when behaving together in a group are central questions to this PhD project. Nematodes are the most abundant animals on Earth; many nematode species live a boom-bust lifestyle and disperse frequently. These tiny little worms often hitchhike on passing vectors to move great distances in search of new resources. Nematodes can disperse individually; we recently found that Caenorhabditis nematodes can also build worm towers to disperse collectively (Perez et al., Current Biology 2025). Moreover, we identified natural dispersal vectors for our local nematode species in southwestern Germany (Greenway et al., bioRxiv 2025). Together, these work pave way for combining the empirical tractability of our study system, including the model organism species C. elegans, with the relevant ecological context to investigate why and how nematodes behave collectively. Research will involve designing, executing, and analysing experiments to address one or more of the questions we ask above. The student may also propose their own questions in addition. The student will develop their own research approach with the support and guidance from our international team of collaborators specialising in behavioral ecology, evolutionary biology, molecular biology, quantitative behavior, computer vision, and physics of behavior. We envision this project to primarily involve laboratory-based investigations, although the student will have the opportunity to join field work to gain insights into the study system. Your qualifications Essential requirements: - MSc in biology, animal behavior, collective behavior, or a related field - Fundamental interest in biological phenomena and questions - Experimental and analytical capability, critical thinking, literature awareness - Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English. German language skills are not required Desirable experience: - Hypothesis-driven experimental design and implementation in animal behavior - Quantitative data analysis skills; proficiency in one or more programming languages (R, Matlab, Python) - Video-based approach to behavioral analysis is beneficial - Competence with C. elegans and/or fluorescence imaging techniques is beneficial but not necessary Our offer The successful candidate will become part of the International Max Planck Research School for Quantitative Behavior, Ecology & Evolution (IMPRS-QBEE). You will therefore work in a dynamic and highly international research environment. Our working language is English. The payment for the position is made in accordance with your experience and qualification of the collective agreement for the public service (TV�D-Bund). The Max Planck Society endeavors to employ more severely disabled people. Applications of severely disabled persons are expressly welcome. The Max Planck Society strives for gender and diversity equality. We welcome applications from all backgrounds. How to apply Are you interested? Then we are looking forward to receiving your application until January 13, 2026 via the IMPRS application system: https://imprs-qbee.cloud.opencampus.net/. To be considered for this position, applicants must include a CV and a research statement that addresses the following points: 1. Describe your main research interests, how they developed, and how they relate to the proposed research project. (1 page) 2. Describe how you would approach 1-2 of the research questions for this project. List your hypotheses, describe the experiments and analyses you would perform to address them, and include a mock figure of what your results might look like (1-2 pages) Further information can be found at https://www.serenadinglab.com/. Questions about this position should be addressed to Dr. Serena Ding, serena.ding@ab.mpg.de Here is the plain text version for position two: "PhD position in the Global Naturalized Alien Flora (GloNAF) project The Ecology lab of Mark van Kleunen (https://www.biologie.uni-konstanz.de/kleunen/) in the Department of Biology at the University of Konstanz, Germany, is seeking a highly motivated student to do her/his PhD in a DFG-FWF-funded project on the analysis of the Global Naturalized Alien Flora (GloNAF) database. This project is part of a large international collaboration, and has already resulted in many high-profile publications (https://scholar.google.de/citations?hl=de&user=9Kh44UMAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&authuser=5&sortby=pubdate). One of the tasks of the PhD student will be to contribute to the maintenance and expansion of the database, but the main task will be to use the database to answer major macro-ecological questions in invasion ecology. The successful candidate should have a keen interest in plant invasions, be able to handle large complex databases in R, and have good writing skills. The position will be funded for three years, and the salary will be at scale 65% E13. The starting date is 1 March 2026, but an earlier or later starting date is negotiable. The University of Konstanz is located just outside the beautiful city of Konstanz, which is at the shore of Lake Constance in Germany (at the border with Switzerland). The Ecology group is very international, and works on a wide range of topics, including among others plant responses to global change and determinants of plant invasions. If you are interested in this position, send a single PDF with the following contents to mark.vankleunen@uni-konstanz.de: . a motivation letter (Why do you want to do a PhD? Why this one? Why in this group?) . your CV . the contact details of two references . a writing sample (for example, a publication that you wrote or your Master thesis) Merge all these documents into a single PDF and include your name in the file name (for example: Swift_Robin.pdf). The application deadline is 7 January 2026. For more information, contact mark.vankleunen@uni-konstanz.de. Best, Lena "MPIAB, IMPRS" (to subscribe/unsubscribe the EvolDir send mail to golding@mcmaster.ca)