The social ecology of parental care in an island bird
PhD studentship based in Budapest, 2025-2029
Supervisors: Dr G.C. McDonald, Dr A. Kosztolányi & Prof. Tamás Székely
University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, Hungary (https://univet.hu/)

Parental care encompasses a diverse array of physiological and behavioural
adaptations in both humans and non-human animals. Parents must defend
offspring from threats and shelter them from climatic extremes.
Understanding the drivers of this diversity has remained a central focus in
evolutionary biology and is increasingly important given the challenges
faced by wild populations as a result of climate change, predator invasions
and human disturbance. Crucially, in nature individual parents are rarely
independent actors and are instead embed-ded within complex social networks
characterised by diverse social interactions. The proposed PhD project will
investigate the role of the social environment in influencing patterns of
parental care.

The project will focus on an individually marked natural population of
ground-nesting plovers on the island of Maio, Cabo Verde. Our team has
investigated the behaviour and ecology of this population since 2007. The
research will combine detailed studies of parental behaviour, population
monitoring and field experiments. We collaborate with a local NGO, Maio
Biodiversity Foundation (FMB), and the PhD student will have the
opportunity to assist conservation programmes on the island.

The student will be based within the University of Veterinary Medicine
Budapest with fieldwork opportunities to study birds in their natural
island habitats. Our team is carrying out cutting-edge research including
GPS tracking and the PhD student will benefit from an international network
of experts, with opportunities to gain international research experience.

We are seeking candidates with an MSc in a biological subject, a strong
interest in fieldwork, biodiversity, animal behaviour, evolutionary biology
and be willing to work in remote areas. Scholarships are available for
Hungarian nationals. EU students may be eligible for funding from the
Hungarian government. For several other non-EU countries, Stipendium
Hungaricum offers a scholarship (https://stipendiumhungaricum.hu/).
Interested candidates should get in touch by sending their CV (max 2 pages)
to grant.mcdonald@univet.hu by the 31st of March 2025.

Selected references:
> Székely, T., Carmona-Isunza, M.C., Engel, N., Halimubieke, N., Jones, W.,
Kubelka, V., Rice, R., Tanner, C.E., Tóth, Z., Valdebenito, J.O., Wanders,
K., McDonald, G.C. 2024. The causes and implications of sex role diversity
in shorebird breeding systems. Ibis 166, 357-385.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.13277
> McDonald, G.C., Cuthill, I.C., Székely, T., Kosztolányi, A. 2023.
Remating opportunities and low costs underlie maternal desertion. Evolution
77, 97-109. https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpac020
> McDonald, G.C., Engel, N., Ratão, S.S., Székely, T., Kosztolányi, A.
2020. The impact of social structure on breeding strategies in an island
bird. Scientific Reports 10, 13872.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-70595-w

Dr Grant C. McDonald
Associate Professor

Department of Zoology,

University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest,

Budapest, Hungary

Grant McDonald <gcmcdon@gmail.com>

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