Social Insect Paid Fieldwork Assistant in Surrey, UK: We seek an experienced field worker to help research how helping may have evolved using a wild digger wasp population (Ammophila) from the start of June until mid-end of August 2024. The assistant will be working alongside a Postdoctoral researcher and several junior field assistants at a nature reserve just outside of Guildford, Surrey, UK. Ammophila is a non-social wasp which does not sting humans, and lays each egg in a separate burrow containing a paralysed caterpillar. The female wasp will provide further food items as her larvae grow, making the species an ideal system for testing how helping may have evolved. A couple of our previous papers on this system are: (1) Field & Brace (2004). Pre-social benefits of extended parental care. Nature 428: 650-652; (2) Field et al. (2023). Brood parasites that care: alternative nesting tactics in a subsocial wasp. American Naturalist 202(5): 655-666. The fieldwork briefly involves: observing and manipulating provisioning behaviour, handling and marking wasps, setting up video cameras, uploading video footage and data entry. The field worker will be expected to take on responsibilities such as data entry, helping with the day-to-day running of the fieldwork and sometimes managing the field site/team when the Postdoc and PI are away. In warm weather, this involves long days in the field! Because the work involves recording colour marks on individual animals, the job would not be suitable for someone who is colour-blind. See our research group website for more information about the kind of work we do (http://biosciences.exeter.ac.uk/staff/index.php?web_id=Jeremy_Field). Candidates must have strong fieldwork experience (preferably including managing others and leading data collection in the field), a degree in Behaviour/Evolution/Ecology and experience in handling animals (particularly insects). Experience in handling data is also essential (e.g., accurate note taking, inputting data). A valid driving licence is desirable. The candidate must be available from 1st June – mid/end August, though the exact timing of the fieldwork is unknown as it is weather condition dependent. The successful applicants must have enthusiasm for fieldwork, and will obtain excellent experience of cutting-edge research. Shared accommodation in Surrey is provided. The position will receive £675 per week. Please contact Dr Lucy Winder l.winder2@exeter.ac.uk (cc’ing Prof Jeremy Field j.p.field@exeter.ac.uk) to discuss these positions further, attaching a CV and covering letter (max 1 page). Dr Lucy Winder (she/her) Postdoctoral Research Fellow University of Exeter www.exeter.ac.uk Stella Turk Building, Treliever Road, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE "Winder, Lucy" (to subscribe/unsubscribe the EvolDir send mail to golding@mcmaster.ca)