PhD position available in the research group of Prof Elli Leadbeater
(https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/99422-elli-leadbeater), co-supervisor Dr Flo
Camus (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/biosciences/people/flo-camus), at University
College London.

This project seeks to explore how memory evolves in response to the
ecological tasks that animals face in their natural environment, using
experimental evolution approaches in fruit fly models. Associative memory
exists in some form in almost all animal species that have been tested,
and is one of the fundamental building blocks of the animal mind. However,
it is far from a singular, uniform entity that fades gradually over
time. Instead, memories are stored through a complex interplay of
multiple, semi-independent phases that operate in parallel, each with its
own triggers, storing memories in various forms with differing levels
of stability. These processes- particularly short-term memory (STM)
and long-term memory (LTM)- have been hypothesized to play different
roles in the ecological world, but in reality we do not understand
whether selection can act on them independently. In this project, we will
establish how selection on associative LTM affects STM, and more widely,
performance in other tasks, using experimental evolution approaches in
Drosophila melanogaster. Working closely within a team of researchers all
of whom will be exploring different aspects of the evolution of memory,
you will create Drosophila lines that have undergone selection for STM
or LTM, and explore impacts on (a) performance in assays of the selected
and non-selected trait (b) performance in different real-world tasks
(c) evolutionary changes in cognitive genes and gene expression.

The project is advertised as part of the TREES Doctoral
Landscape Award, and applications should be submitted via
the TREES website. Details of the project can be found here:
https://www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/evolutionary-ecology-animal-memory.
Information about TREES, including eligibility rules and application
procedures, can be found here: https://www.trees-dla.ac.uk. Please direct
any questions about the project itself to Ellouise.Leadbeater@ucl.ac.uk.

Elli Leadbeater
Professor of Ecosystems and Biodiversity Research
People and Nature Lab, UCL East
University College London

"Leadbeater, Ellouise" <ellouise.leadbeater@ucl.ac.uk>

(to subscribe/unsubscribe the EvolDir send mail to
golding@mcmaster.ca)