Postdoctoral position OT-23226
Postdoctoral position in behavioural ecology: Regulation processes of honey bee behavioural defences against diseases
84914 Avignon
INRAE presentation
The French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) is a major player in research and innovation. It is a community of 12,000 people with 272 research, experimental research, and support units located in 18 regional centres throughout France. Internationally, INRAE is among the top research organisations in the agricultural and food sciences, plant and animal sciences, as well as in ecology and environmental science. It is the world’s leading research organisation specialising in agriculture, food and the environment. INRAE’s goal is to be a key player in the transitions necessary to address major global challenges. Faced with a growing world population, climate change, resource scarcity, and declining biodiversity, the Institute has a major role to play in building solutions and supporting the necessary acceleration of agricultural, food and environmental transitions.
Work environment, missions and activities
Background & duties
Invasive species that reveal themselves as new parasites disrupt established host-pathogen dynamics and can cause immense economic damage. Despite their high susceptibility to invasions and disease spread, many social animals have evolved mechanisms that allow effective defence at the group level. Considering the colony as a superorganism, these defences provide the colony with the equivalent of an immune system, known as social immunity. Such defences have been described across the animal kingdom, especially within social insect species, and are known to involve chemical communication. The Bee Healthy project aims to decipher the mechanisms that underpin collective behavioural defences against unhealthy brood in honey bee colonies, in the context of the invasion by the parasite Varroa destructor.
Within this project, the postdoc will lead research to understand how these collective behavioural defences are developed and regulated at the group level, and what is the impact of environmental conditions on the ability of bees and colonies to display such traits. Investigations will be performed through behavioural ecology tools and involve activities both in the laboratory and in the field, developed at the individual and colony levels. The candidate will also participate in and benefit from data collection on an observatory that includes several hundreds of colonies phenotyped in the field across several years.
You will join the “Bees and Environment” research unit of INRAE in Avignon (France), which develops a wide range of research programs to study honey bee and wild bee populations, in the context of sustainable farming and global change. This postdoc project is part of an ERC Starting grant (2024-2028 – Bee Healthy). You will work in close collaboration with our beekeeping technicians, students and postdocs of the team, and our research engineer in honey bee genetics. You will benefit from all the lab and field work facilities of the unit, including our experimental apiary and observatory involving professional beekeeper apiaries. The contract will be for 2 years, starting in March 2025. Salary and benefits are according to INRAE rules in France (monthly gross salary ~ 3,100 €).Research environment and work conditions
Training and skills
We are looking for a highly motivated early career researcher with a strong expertise in behavioural ecology, and a sound interest for honey bee biology. Applicants should have a PhD in ecology, biology or related discipline and skills in the following areas:
- Ethology,
- Behavioural lab or field experiments, preferably with insects
- Handling of large biological datasets,
- Statistical analyses (use of R),
- Scientific writing and communication (in English).
The candidate is expected to work in an interdisciplinary environment, thus good communication skills and excellent team-working capacities are expected. A strong publication record (in relation to the time since dissertation) is a merit. Experience with social insects, practical skills in beekeeping and fluency in French would be an asset. A driver license, good physical fitness and no known allergies to bee stings are required to work on our experimental apiaries.
INRAE's life quality
By joining our teams, you benefit from (depending on the type of contract and its duration):
- up to 30 days of annual leave + 15 days "Reduction of Working Time" (for a full time);
- parenting support: CESU childcare, leisure services;
- skills development systems: training, career advise;
- social support: advice and listening, social assistance and loans;
- holiday and leisure services: holiday vouchers, accommodation at preferential rates;
- sports and cultural activities;
- collective catering.
How to apply
The application should include a detailed CV, a motivation letter and contact details of two scientific references, combined in a single pdf file.
For more information and to apply, contact Fanny Mondet (fanny.mondet@inrae.fr).
Application deadline: December, 19th 2024. Selected candidates will be interviewed early January.
All persons employed by or hosted at INRAE, a public research establishment, are subject to the Civil Service Code, particularly with regard to the obligation of neutrality and respect for the principle of secularism. In carrying out their functions, whether or not they are in contact with the public, they must not express their religious, philosophical or political convictions through their behaviour or by what they wear. > Find out more: fonction publique.gouv.fr website (in French)