Postdoctorant-e en écologie comportementale et évolutive

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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

Scientific context As part of the OFB-funded collaborative project CONNECT “Spatial functioning of large herbivores in agroecosystems: the impact of human activity on landscape connectivity and survival in complex landscapes”, we are seeking motivated candidates for a post-doctoral research position (at least 24 months, depending on experience) to contribute to the analysis of among individual variation in dispersal behaviour and its life history consequences in roe deer. This project will combine spatial analyses, behavioural ecology, and evolutionary theory to investigate dispersal tactics and their life history consequences in fragmented agro-ecosystems. The analysis will be based on the exceptional long-term data base of over 250 juvenile roe deer monitored during the 25 years’ study of a wild roe deer population inhabiting a spatially heterogeneous agroecosystem in the south of France. The data for a wide array of behavioural (e.g. GPS, accelerometery, personality), physiological (e.g. markers of stress) and life history (e.g. growth, reproduction, survival) traits have been collected systematically, hence, the bulk of the postdoctoral project will be dedicated to analysis of the interplay between landscape context, individual behaviour during dispersal and life history outcomes. The project will focus on two main questions: 

1. How landscape heterogeneity determines functional connectivity through its influence on natal dispersal trajectories: Once an animal decides to emigrate from its natal range, what are the drivers of the behavioural decisions that determine the direction, speed and distance that it travels during transience? In landscapes increasingly fragmented by agricultural intensification and linear infrastructure (roads, canals, highways), understanding how landscape heterogeneity shapes natal dispersal trajectories is essential to predict the impacts of human development on functional connectivity. The European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) is a widespread species in anthropogenic landscapes that is highly sensitive to the mosaic of agricultural, forested and built-up environments, and is hence an ideal model for investigating this question. 

2. Settlement dynamics and life history consequences of individual dispersal tactics. How does a dispersing animal identify and establish a suitable settlement range? What are the life history consequences of these decisions? Individual roe deer vary in their behavioural type, with expected knock-on effects for dispersal tactics and settlement decisions. Here, we will investigative the behavioural decisions that drive successful settlement after dispersal (the role of refuge habitat, anthropogenic disturbance and habitat matching through early life experience) and assess the consequences for survival and reproduction.

Training and skills

*PhD in behavioural and/or evolutionary ecology 

*Demonstrated research experience on behavioural variation, in particular, analysis of large GPS datasets; an interest in demographic performance data is appreciated 

*Demonstrated skills in scientific writing 

*Excellent collaborative, communication and interpersonal skills

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

I send my CV and my motivation letter