PhD Studentship : Towards a Framework for ‘evo-eco’ Toxicology: Investigating Sublethal Effects of Pesticide Exposure in a Freshwater Invertebrate, 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 A.Wilson@exeter.ac.uk

Project Aims and Methods

Chemical pollution of freshwater environments often has sub-lethal effects on organisms, changing aspects of behaviour with consequences for life history and reproductive biology. Behavioural traits are very sensitive to pollutants but are also the first line of defence against natural threats (e.g. predators). So small changes in behaviour can have big ecological consequences for individuals and populations. Moreover, if individuals in a population respond differently to exposure, this will change patterns of behavioural variation. This matters because variation is the raw material for natural selection. So, does pollutant exposure change evolutionary dynamics? Theory tells us it could, especially if genes contribute to differences in pollutant-sensitivity. However, we are only just beginning to study this question, and we lack empirical studies on how genetic variation shapes pollutant response within a species.   

This project will address this gap with the broad aim of better understanding and predicting ‘evo-eco’ consequences of sublethal pollutant exposure. It will do so by investigating the behavioural and evolutionary ecotoxicology of freshwater shrimp (Neocaridina heteropoda and related species) exposed to pesticides. This will be a lab-based project working with an interdisciplinary team of supervisors that includes perspectives from ecotoxicology, behavioural ecology, and evolutionary biology.  

Training

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

Useful links

Webpage: https://sites.exeter.ac.uk/wilson-group/ 

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