Plant-animal Interactions in Horticultural and Natural Systems
Project Information
The School of Environmental and Rural Science at the University of New England (UNE) is offering a unique and exciting opportunity for two motivated, independent and adventurous PhD candidates to study community ecology in the following specific areas: plant-animal interactions, insect ecology, crop pollination ecology, ecosystem services provided by animals, agro-ecology, threatened species ecology, metrics to measure health of biodiversity and ecosystems and greater understanding of the dependency of plants upon pollinators. The successful candidates will be required to undertake field-word across the north and eastern parts of Australia across several different land use types. Candidates can specialise in a specific topic area or cover multiple areas and land use types including forest, coastal, horticultural, cropping or pasture ecosystems.
We are seeking applicants with an interest and background in ecology, pollination, entomology, plant-animal interactions, bird or bat ecology or animal behaviour for a 3-year PhD project based at UNE, in Armidale, NSW Australia. Ideally, candidates will have experience conducting field work with insects, animals or plants, or pollen processing is desirable.
The PhD projects are part of a larger collaboration between the University of New England, several other universities and/or government and industry groups. The responsibilities of the candidates will include: experimental design and development of field surveys, observations, analytical and statistical work and to disseminate research results to industry and the broader scientific community. An interest in working alongside government or industry stakeholders, a willingness to work in remote areas and the capacity to work both independently and as part of a team are important qualities.
Applicants must be proficient in spoken and written English and have a current driver's licence. Selection of applicants will be based on merit.
These projects will offer collaboration opportunities with other research groups and current students.
Scholarship Information
The University is offering one domestic and one international scholarship:
Domestic Candidate: A Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship is being offered to the successful domestic candidate. This amounts to AU$35,411 per annum (2024 rate), tax free for up to three years an six months to support a full-time PhD candidate.
Please refer to the RTP Scholarship Terms and Conditions for further information.
International Candidate: The University is offering an International Postgraduate Research Award (IPRA) Scholarship to the successful candidate. This amounts to AU$35,411 per annum (2024 rate), tax free for up to three years and six months to support a full-time PhD candidate. This also includes tuition fees and overseas health cover for the candidate only.
Please refer to the IPRA Scholarship Terms and Conditions for further information.
How to Apply
- For new candidates - If you are a new candidate who does not have an offer of admission and is not currently enrolled in Higher Degree Research (HDR), you must apply through the online application portal. After you complete the Expression of Interest (Step 2), if you meet all the requirements, you will be sent an invitation to apply for candidature which will include the link to the application portal where you can complete both your candidature and scholarship application. Please note, the Expression of Interest form may take up to 3 weeks to process so please plan your application timeline accordingly.
- For candidates who are currently enrolled or have an offer of admission - If you are currently enrolled in HDR or have a valid offer of admission and would like to apply for a scholarship, please complete this form. The scholarship application can be submitted online via the future students for those who are not enrolled or via askUNE for those who are currently enrolled in their candidature.
Enquiries
For further information (including supervision advice) please contact Dr Romina Rader by email: rrader@une.edu.au
We encourage applicants from gender diverse, LGBTQIA+, persons with disabilities, all backgrounds and ethnicities.
Scholarship ID: S21-14
