Postdoctoral position in population genetics - Using a genetic time
series and historical DNA to understand extinction risk

Understanding susceptibility to extinction using historical museum
specimens as a genetic time series

Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (UMR ISYEB), Paris
 
Project leader: Ben Warren 
Project members planned to advise the postdoc in analyses: Yann Bourgeois,
Lounes Chikhi.

Collaborator : Zhangyi He (BICR, UK).

Co-investigators: Catherine Theves and Ludovic Orlando (CAGT, Toulouse),
Julian Hume (NHM, UK).

Evolutionary history is expected to play a major role in determining
which species decline in population size to extinction in response
to environmental change, but the processes by which this comes about
are poorly understood. Although population genetic studies provide
much promise to understand the microevolutionary processes behind
macroevolutionary patterns of extinction risk, inferences can be limited
by our confidence in the timescales inferred, and by the scale of such
studies, which frequently include only one lineage. The postdoc will
tackle both of these issues, benefitting from a unique genome-wide time
series including pre-human reference points for multiple Mascarene island
bird lineages that differ in abundance and other biological traits.

Islands in the Mascarene archipelago (Mauritius & Réunion), Indian Ocean,
are unusual among sizable and biologically diverse landmasses worldwide,
in that they had no human population until European arrival 400 years
ago. Therefore, there exist museum samples and subfossils spanning the
full duration of anthropogenic environmental change, allowing a real-time
assessment of genetic response to environmental changes of known timing
and across multiple species following first human presence.

In collaboration with others on the project the postdoc will be focussed
on population genetic analyses with the potential to make inferences
of genetic diversity, demographic change or selection, and comparing
responses to common (and severe) environmental changes across multiple
species that differ in abundance - common species versus rarer ones
(most of which are IUCN threatened).

The genome-wide time series includes post-human genomes (~ 20 per species)
from both modern and historical (museum skin; AD 1801-1912) samples, as
well as hyRAD sequences (up to 3 per speciues; ~ 50 000 - 30 million bp)
from subfossils (many of which are pre-human). The postdoc will complete
the bioinformatics including both modern and historical DNA for at least
two species, using an existing bioinformatic pipeline.

Work is to be conducted at the Paris Museum (MNHN, ISYEB research centre).
Candidates should have a strong interest in the broad theme of the
study - understanding the role of evolutionary history in determining
which species decline towards extinction in response to environmental
change. They should also be interested in relevant population genomic
methods, and ideally have extensive experience of using them as well as
in running prior bioinformatic pipelines to obtain variants.

Start date: 16th September 2024 is likely ideal. 
 
Applications should ideally be submitted before July 15th (applications
received until July 19th or until the position is filled).

 
For informal enquiries please contact: 
Ben Warren (bwarren@mnhn.fr).
 
To apply please email Ben Warren (bwarren@mnhn.fr) with the following,
as a single PDF:

1) a detailed CV with publication list, and the names and email
   addresses of three referees who can comment on your expertise;
2) a letter of motivation explaining why you are interested in this
   position, and your specific qualifications and experiences relevant
   for the project.
 
 
 
 

Ben Warren <bwarren@mnhn.fr>

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