Research Fellow in Honeybee Reproduction and Ecology (FBSBY1084)

Are you an ambitious researcher looking for your next challenge? Do you have an established background in honeybee biology and/or ecology? Do you want to further your career in one of the UKs leading research intensive Universities?

Insects pollinate approximately 80% of crop plants and wildflowers and pollination is a key ecosystem service in both managed and natural terrestrial ecosystems. The honeybee (Apis mellifera) is the most extensively managed pollinator species, yet populations are declining. In a honeybee hive one female, the queen, is responsible for the majority of reproduction. Worker bees are also female and, although they can’t mate, they can produce male offspring. However, the queen generally prevents workers from doing so via a pheromone called Queen Mandibular Pheromone (QMP) and repression is key to colony harmony and productivity.

We are seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral fellow to work with Dr Elizabeth Duncan to address a fundamental gap in our understanding of honeybee biology and to determine if defects in this process are contributing to the decline of honeybee populations. You will build on Dr Duncan’s previous research to determine how QMP stops workers from reproducing and determine whether environmental stressors like neonicotinoid pesticides perturb this process. 

This project will use a highly innovative experimental approach combining state-of-the-art techniques for measuring gene expression (RNA-seq) with behavioural ecology and colony monitoring. The project seeks to link the biology of the individual bee with behavioural changes, colony productivity and ecology and, ultimately, to determine if defects in this process are contributing to colony instability and decline in honeybee numbers. In this role you will also have the opportunity to contribute to undergraduate teaching and to supervise undergraduate and masters-level student projects as appropriate.

The successful applicant will need to work with adult worker honeybees and so the post is not suitable for those with a known allergy to bee stings or a phobia about working with live insects.

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact:

Dr Elizabeth Duncan, Lecturer in Zoology

Tel: +44 (0)113 343 7716, email: E.J.Duncan@leeds.ac.uk 

Closing Date: 12 Jul 2018
Category: Research