Cognitive Ecology in The Wild: Investigating Behavioural Variation in A Free-roaming Mesocarnivore, NERC GW4+ DTP PhD Studentship for September 2025 Entry

About the Partnership

This project is one of a number that are in competition for funding from the NERC Great Western Four+ Doctoral Training Partnership (GW4+ DTP). The GW4+ DTP consists of the Great Western Four alliance of the University of Bath, University of Bristol, Cardiff University and the University of Exeter plus five Research Organisation partners: British Antarctic Survey, British Geological Survey, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the Natural History Museum and Plymouth Marine Laboratory. The partnership aims to provide a broad training in earth and environmental sciences, designed to train tomorrow’s leaders in earth and environmental science. For further details about the programme please see http://nercgw4plus.ac.uk/ 

Project details

For information relating to the research project please contact the lead Supervisor via s.darden@exeter.ac.uk 

Project Aims and Methods

Understanding the causes and consequences of behavioural variation is crucial for ecology, evolution, and conservation. Despite significant progress in exploring the ecological and evolutionary impacts of within and between individual behavioural variation, the psychological mechanisms that underlie these differences and how they interact with ecological variation remain poorly understood. This project aims to address this gap using a unique island population of red foxes off the USA Pacific Northwest coast as a model system. This population is ideally suited due to a mosaic of distinct habitats on the island and high variation in coat markings, allowing for non-invasive, long-term tracking of individuals across varying ecological conditions. By employing wildlife cameras, citizen science, and experimental assays, the student will co-develop a project to investigate the relationship between psychological mechanisms and ecological variation in driving behavioural diversity. The project will equip the student with practical skills in wildlife ecology, animal behaviour, non-invasive field techniques and advanced statistical methods. Given the red fox’s wide distribution across the Northern Hemisphere, the research will provide valuable insights into behavioural adaptations to ecological changes. It will also have broader implications for predicting wildlife responses to environmental shifts, thereby contributing to the development of effective conservation strategies. 

Training

The DTP offers funding to undertake specialist training relating to the student’s specialist area of research. 

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