Anthropogenically driven environmental changes affect our planet at an unprecedented scale and are considered to be a key threat to a sustainable future. A plethora of single studies have shown that both wild animals and livestock are affected by anthropogenically driven environmental changes. However, such single studies cannot provide holistic quantitative assessments on the potential effects. Consequently, only a formal empirical quantification, providing global estimates, will allow us to get a holistic understanding of the key threats for a sustainable future. Meta-analyses provide such global estimates, enabling us to quantify the effects of global change. By synthesizing results across studies and species we will reach a profound understanding of how different forms of environmental change affect animals and their welfare.

Using multi-level phylogenetically controlled meta-analyses, we will provide the first holistic quantitative analyses of society’s most pressing needs. This will allow us to develop effective legislation to mitigate the effects of environmental changes.

This project will be supervised by Dr Hansjoerg Kunc and Dr Domhnall Jennings of Queen’s University School of Biological Sciences.

Specific skills/experience required by applicants:

Knowledge of the R programming language.
Willingness to learn new statistical techniques.

All applicants must meet the academic entry requirements: https://www.qub.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate-research/biological-sciences-phd.html#entry

Funding Information

This project is in competition for funding.

Only UK and EU students are eligible to apply. Before applying, it is strongly recommended that you read the full information on eligibility criteria available from DfE: https://www.economy-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/economy/post-graduate-studentships-terms-conditions-19-20.pdf.

Please note in particular that not all successful applicants may be eligible to receive a full studentship (i.e. fees and stipend) - please read in detail the Residency and Citizenship requirements in the document linked to above.