A PhD position is available in Mariana Braga's group at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Uppsala, Sweden. Research in the Evolving Networks lab centers around understanding how species interactions change over time and space, with a focus on caterpillar-plant interactions and development of phylogenetic methods. The EvonetsLab is supported by a Starting Grant from the European Research Council and a DDLS Fellowship from the SciLifeLab and Wallenberg Swedish program for data-driven life science. The aim of this PhD position is to develop a novel phylogenetic approach to predict unknown species interactions. For that, the student will compile all available data on host use for Nymphalinae butterflies, apply recent methods to predict interactions, and test these predictions by rearing caterpillars of various butterfly species on the predicted host plants. The project will result in a pipeline for faster collection of interaction data and the generation of valuable new data on tropical species. The PhD position is fully funded by an ERC Starting Grant (project SPECTRO: Causes and consequences of higher host specialisation in the tropics - the role of ecological and evolutionary processes, and of data bias), and the successful applicant will work in the Evonets lab (evonetslab.github.io) The successful candidate will be based in Uppsala but expected to spend extended periods in Brazil for field and lab work over four years. Fluency in English is essential as it is the team's common language. The candidate should be proactive, independent, solution-oriented, and adaptable in solving technical problems. Strong collaborative skills, excellent communication, goodwill, and reliability are required, as the role involves close teamwork. Read more about the position and how to apply here https://www.slu.se/en/about-slu/work-at-slu/jobs-vacancies/?rmpage=job&rmjob=12583&rmlang=UK Please submit your application by April 30, 2025. For informal enquiries about the position, please contact me at mariana.braga@slu.se. Mariana P. Braga, Ph.D. Associate Senior Lecturer Data-Driven Life Sciences Fellow Department of Ecology Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences SciLifeLab Uppsala - Sweden Mariana P Braga (to subscribe/unsubscribe the EvolDir send mail to golding@mcmaster.ca)