top of page

Opportunities

We will post any available study opportunities we have available.  Check back regularly to see if there are any that suit your research interests!

Jump to:

MSc Study Opportunity: 

Phenotypic flexibility in the extreme hyperthermia tolerance of red-billed queleas

Application deadline: 31 March

 

We invite applications for the above full-time research scholarship

(starting January 2023) offered jointly by SANBI and the

University of Pretoria. The successful candidate will be registered

at the University of Pretoria (UP) with Prof Andrew McKechnie and

will be part of the Hot Birds Research Project team.

 

Red-billed queleas (Quelea quelea), often thought to be the most

abundant wild bird species on Earth, have recently been found to

possess a capacity for hyperthermia that exceeds that of any other

avian species investigated so far. Queleas tolerate body

temperatures as high as 48 – 49 °C with any apparent ill-effect

(Freeman et al. 2020), well above the values of 46 - 47 °C thought

to be lethal for most birds. The existence of such extreme avian hyperthermia tolerance is unexpected and raises a host of questions. Why, for instance, should red-billed queleas have evolved a tolerance of high body temperature that, as far as we know, is unprecedented among birds? In the Freeman et al. (2020) study, we hypothesized that the queleas’ capacity for extreme hyperthermia arose through selection for dehydration tolerance when travelling in vast flocks that occasionally number into the millions.


This project will explore the ecological significance of the queleas’ bizarre thermal physiology by testing the hypothesis that their heat tolerance and evaporative cooling capacities are adjusted in response to changing thermal environments. The successful applicant will test this hypothesis by examining a) seasonal acclimatisation of thermal physiology among wild queleas in their natural environment, and b) responses to thermal acclimation among captive queleas by experimentally manipulating the environmental temperatures they experienc. The project will be a critical first step in elucidating why these birds have evolved such remarkable hyperthermia tolerance, information directly applicable to understanding the evolution of birds’ upper thermal tolerance limits and their responses to accelerating global heating.


Applicants should have an excellent academic record and must have a valid driver’s licence. MSc candidates require an appropriate BSc Honours degree, to be obtained no later than the end of 2022. Experience in field and laboratory techniques, off-road driving, statistical data analysis and scientific writing would be favoured. The project involves both data collection in the field (the successful candidate should be comfortable working in remote locations without reliable cell phone signal from time to time) and working with a colony of captive queleas to be established in UP’s Small Animal Physiological Research Facility.

 

The bursary value will be as per the current NRF postgraduate funding policy (approximate value in table below), administered through UP. The NRF allocates full or partial cost of study bursaries on the basis of academic performance and financial need. Renewal each year will be contingent on satisfactory academic progress. Project running costs will be provided by the South African Research Chair in Conservation Physiology.

                                Degree       Full cost of study                    Partial cost of study                  Duration

                                                    (financially needy students)                                                              (Years)

                               PhD            R163 000 pa                               R100 000 pa                                    2

We invite applications from South African citizens. To apply, please send a CV (including your academic record and names and contact details of two referees) and a short motivation letter to Andrew McKechnie at andrew.mckechnie@up.ac.za (subject ‘your surname’ and Quelea MSc).


The application process will follow the new NRF Postgraduate Funding Policy, implemented for the first time for degrees starting in 2021. The successful candidate will need to apply to the NRF for the bursary, with the anticipated deadline being in late June and the outcome announced by the NRF in December 2022/January 2023. We will provide the successful candidate with as much assistance as possible during the bursary application process. Please
note this project is contingent on successful renewal of the SARChI Chair in Conservation Physiology in mid-2022.


Candidates from historically disadvantaged backgrounds are especially encouraged to apply


Reference:

Freeman, M.T., Czenze, Z.J., Schoeman, K. & McKechnie, A.E. (2020) Extreme hyperthermia tolerance in the world’s most abundant wild bird. Scientific Reports 10: 13098.

Quelea.jpg
Photo: Marc Freeman
Queleas
bottom of page