[Coral-List] Open PhD position - Behaviour and ecophysiology of social fishes (University of Southampton)

[Lauren Nadler]

Dear listers,
I have an open Ph.D. position in my lab (Marine Behaviour and Physiology
Lab at the University of Southampton), starting in October 2023, studying
the calming effect of group living in social fishes, which is described on
FindAPhD.com here
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.findaphd.com%2Fphds%2Fproject%2Ffish-with-friends-the-calming-effect-of-group-living-in-social-fishes%2F%3Fp147145&data=05%7C01%7CL.Nadler%40soton.ac.uk%7Cc6cbb319d020422c734308dab832cde0%7C4a5378f929f44d3ebe89669d03ada9d8%7C0%7C0%7C638024825576228187%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=56tdoq56RY%2B%2BriKh2hydM00X40zrr8MsHKmVfCVdi6E%3D&reserved=0>
and
copied below.

The project will be co-supervised by Clive Trueman (University of
Southampton) and Shaun Killen (University of Glasgow). It will be funded
through the INSPIRE program (eligibility and application details here
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Finspire-dtp.ac.uk%2Fhow-apply&data=05%7C01%7CL.Nadler%40soton.ac.uk%7Cc6cbb319d020422c734308dab832cde0%7C4a5378f929f44d3ebe89669d03ada9d8%7C0%7C0%7C638024825576228187%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=FVbH6hAUqoJP4xnAzdzQxrBqtwfK4dqdFJoqRISyCJY%3D&reserved=0>),
which is open to both UK and international candidates. Prospective students
can reach out to me with any questions. Applications are due by the 3rd of
January.
Kind regards,
Lauren

*Fish with friends: The calming effect of group living in social fishes*

*Project Rationale*
Group living is common across the animal kingdom, ranging from the tiniest
insects to the largest mammals. The ubiquity of sociality suggests that it
imparts several benefits to individual group members. However, the
evolutionary drivers of social behaviour within and among animal species
remain obscure. One advantage of group living may come in the form of
energy savings. Group-living individuals may reduce energy needs by sharing
the costs associated with daily activities, such as movement and finding
food. Social individuals may also benefit from the “calming effect”, in
which energy use drops as the group can take advantage of having “many
eyes” to scan for predators and reduce everyone’s investment in predator
avoidance. Recent work in a social fish species found that socializing can
reduce metabolic rate by 25% on average when compared to social isolation
[1], with this calming effect persisting even under projected future ocean
acidification [2]. This project will take a comparative approach to social
fishes to identify what characteristics predispose a fish species to be
“calmer” in a social context and determine whether environmental traits
alter the magnitude of this energetic benefit.

*Methodology*
Using social fishes as models, this project will combine techniques in
animal behaviour, ecophysiology, and otolith geochemistry to explore the
energetic consequences of sociality, with results applicable to social
species from a range of taxa and habitat types. This PhD project will take
advantage of recent technological advances for measuring the metabolic rate
of social fishes in the laboratory [1,2] and field [3] to test: 1) the
prevalence of the calming effect among social fishes, 2) the role of
environment and social context in modifying the strength of this effect,
and 3) the mechanistic drivers underpinning calming effects. These research
questions will be addressed using techniques such as animal personality
tests, intermittent-flow respirometry, and assays of otolith geochemistry.
Comparisons will be drawn among temperate and tropical fishes, with
potential for fieldwork in a range of settings depending on the interests
of the candidate.

*Training*
The INSPIRE DTP programme provides comprehensive personal and professional
development training alongside extensive opportunities for students to
expand their multi-disciplinary outlook through interactions with a wide
network of academic, research and industrial/policy partners. The student
will be registered at the University of Southampton and hosted at the
National Oceanography Centre Southampton. Training will focus on animal
behaviour and physiology, using interdisciplinary approaches associated
with fish biology, behavioural ecology, ecophysiology, otolith
geochemistry, and quantitative data analysis. The results achieved will
have implications for conservation, climate change, and fisheries
management. This project will allow the student to gain skills both in the
laboratory and the field as well as network with international scientists
at the forefront of their discipline. If possible, travel to international
scientific conferences will be encouraged to present this project’s
results. The research skill set gained is highly marketable and the
networking opportunities generated can provide diverse career opportunities.

*Example References*
[1] Nadler, L. E., Killen, S. S., McClure, E. C., Munday, P. L. and
McCormick, M. I. (2016). Shoaling reduces metabolic rate in a gregarious
coral reef fish species. J Exp Biol 219, 2802-2805.
[2] Nadler, L. E., Killen, S. S., McCormick, M. I., Watson, S. and Munday,
P. L. (2016). Effect of elevated carbon dioxide on shoal familiarity and
metabolism in a coral reef fish. Cons Phys 4, cow052.
[3] Chung, M. T., Trueman, C. N., Godiksen, J. A., Holmstrup, M. E. and
Gronkjaer, P. (2019). Field metabolic rates of teleost fishes are recorded
in otolith carbonate. Comm Biol 2, 24.