A position as Researcher (Senior Curator, with the possibility of promotion to Professor) in Botany (Systematic Botany in the widest sense, including mycology and lichenology) is open at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm. Deadline for application June 18th 2015. More details in the pdf on the nrm website:
http://www.nrm.se/download/18.4a349ce514c29d2b7519738f/1431086492505/Forskare+BOT+engelsk.pdf
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The selected student will work with Dr. Colin Hughes http://www.systbot.uzh.ch/Personen/ProfessorenundDozenten/ColinHughes.html on a research project entitled “Global Legume diversity patterns: macroevolutionary and ecological processes shaping biodiversity”, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation in the Institute of Systematic Botany at the University of Zürich. http://www.systbot.uzh.ch/index_en.html
We are interested in how diversity evolves and understanding the processes and factors that determine the spatial distribution of life on Earth. Using comparative approaches and one of the most evolutionary successful families of flowering plants, the legumes (Leguminosae = Fabaceae), as a study system, we are addressing a set of inter-related questions about global plant diversity patterns. We are making use of recent developments in comparative phylogenomics and global-scale species distribution modelling to quantify phylogenetic turnover and the ecological factors underlying patterns of diversity across large-scale ecological gradients.
The PhD projects will focus on specific legume clades, and especially subfamily Mimosoideae, a pantropical clade spanning all lowland tropical biomes and potentially involve fieldwork, laboratory work to generate DNA sequence data using NGS, herbarium specimen database work, and phylogenetic/ macroevolutionary analysis. This will build on foundations – genomic data, development of NGS approaches, taxonomic knowledge and research material – already established in Zurich.
POSITION CHARACTERISTICS: The Institute of Systematic Botany in Zurich offers excellent research facilities and a stimulating working environment for graduate students in plant systematics and evolution. The project will also involve collaboration with legume researchers in Brasil, the Netherlands, U.K., U.S.A. and Canada. Salary is according to the Swiss National Science Foundation guidelines. Funding, including for laboratory and field work, is available for 3 years.
REQUIREMENTS: Applicants should hold a Masters degree in systematics, biodiversity or evolutionary biology. Experience in molecular laboratory techniques, working with NGS data, phylogenetic analysis, macroevolutionary analysis, fieldwork and GIS are all potentially relevant. Excellent knowledge of English, written and oral, is essential.
HOW TO APPLY: Send the following documents by email AS A SINGLE PDF FILE to Dr. Colin Hughes, colin.hughes@systbot.uzh.ch: i) a two-page application letter describing your research interests, outlining why you think working on mimosoid legumes is interesting, why are you interested in a Ph.D. position in systematic botany and your career goals; ii) your CV, including a list of publications (if applicable); iii) a copy of your undergraduate and graduate academic record; iv) names and contact details of at least two referees selected from your academic advisors.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION: Applications will be screened from May 25th 2015 onwards until the positions are filled.
STARTING DATE: Sept/Oct 2015.
Årets utlysning av medel från Svenska artprojektet för taxonomisk forskning och inventering gällande dåligt kända organismgrupper ligger nu ute på ArtDatabankens hemsida. Sista ansökningsdag är 1 juni 2015.
Ansökningsfrist för att kunde komma med på kursen, som är i Udzungwa Mts 24 augusti – 6 september 2015, är slutet på juni. För mer information och hur man ansöker: http://www.muse.it/it/La-Ricerca/Biodiversita-tropicale/Proposte-formative/Pagine/Summer-School-2015.aspx
Kontaktperson för kursen är Nikolaj Scharff (nscharff@snm.ku.dk).
Dear All!
Molecular-Clock Dating Using MrBayes – Seminar and Workshop
Chi Zhang*, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm
Johan Nylander, BILS/Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm
MrBayes – the most often used software for Bayesian phylogenetic analysis – has included many new features since version 3.2. In this seminar, we will highlight some newly implemented functionality, with focus on the molecular-clock dating capacities of the current version (v.3.2.4). The seminar will consist of two parts, where following a presentation* giving the necessary backrground information, there will be a hands-on tutorial where participants are encouraged to bring their own data (and computers).
Abstract
There are two approaches on dating using molecular data: node dating and total-evidence dating. Node dating calibrates the internal nodes of the tree by assigning distributions using information from external sources, such as the fossil record. Total-evidence dating uses the morphological data from fossil record and morphological and sequence data from recent organisms together to infer the dates. Several steps involve in Bayesian dating analysis, including data partitioning, node or fossil age calibration, and setting priors for the tree and the molecular clock model. I will describe the available calibration probability distributions, clock tree priors – especially the fossilized birth-death prior for total-evidence dating, and relaxed clock models, through a step-by-step tutorial of MrBayes.
The program (MrBayes v.3.2.4) is available from http://mrbayes.net (alternatively https://sourceforge.net/projects/mrbayes/files/mrbayes)
Participants in the practical part are encouraged to bring their own computers with the software installed from the above mentioned URL’s.
Dear All!
Reminder and change of starting time!
Stockholm Phylogenomics Group announces – Upcoming talk at the Naturhistoriska riksmuseet, Stockholm, March 24.
Speakers: Alexandre Antonelli (University of Gothenburg),
Hannes Hettling and Rutger Vos (Naturalis Biodiversity Center,
the Netherlands)
Title: SUPERSMART: Ecology and evolution in the era of big data
Time: March 24 at 15:30-16:30
Venue: Room 525, Naturhistoriska riksmuseet, Stockholm
Host: Fredrik Ronquist
Abstract: Rapidly growing biological data volumes – including
molecular sequences and fossil records – hold an unprecedented
potential to reveal how evolutionary processes generate and
maintain biodiversity. However, most studies integrating these
data use an idiosyncratic step-by-step approach for the
reconstruction of time-calibrated phylogenies. We will present a
novel conceptual framework, termed SUPERSMART (Self-Updating
Platform for Estimating Rates of Speciation and Migration, Ages,
and Relationships of Taxa), and present our proof of concept for
dealing with the moving targets of biodiversity research. This
framework reconstructs dated phylogenies based on the assembly
of molecular and genomic datasets. The data handled for each step
are continuously updated as databases accumulate new records. We
believe that this emerging framework will provide an invaluable
tool for a wide range of hypothesis-driven research questions in
systematics and evolution. For more information please see
Stockholm Phylogenomics Group announces – Upcoming talk at the Naturhistoriska riksmuseet, Stockholm, March 24.
Speakers: Alexandre Antonelli (University of Gothenburg),
Hannes Hettling and Rutger Vos (Naturalis Biodiversity Center,
the Netherlands)
Title: SUPERSMART: Ecology and evolution in the era of big data
Time: March 24 at 15:00-16:00
Venue: Room 525, Naturhistoriska riksmuseet, Stockholm
Host: Fredrik Ronquist
Abstract: Rapidly growing biological data volumes – including
molecular sequences and fossil records – hold an unprecedented
potential to reveal how evolutionary processes generate and
maintain biodiversity. However, most studies integrating these
data use an idiosyncratic step-by-step approach for the
reconstruction of time-calibrated phylogenies. We will present a
novel conceptual framework, termed SUPERSMART (Self-Updating
Platform for Estimating Rates of Speciation and Migration, Ages,
and Relationships of Taxa), and present our proof of concept for
dealing with the moving targets of biodiversity research. This
framework reconstructs dated phylogenies based on the assembly
of molecular and genomic datasets. The data handled for each step
are continuously updated as databases accumulate new records. We
believe that this emerging framework will provide an invaluable
tool for a wide range of hypothesis-driven research questions in
systematics and evolution. For more information please see
http://www.supersmart-project.org.
Stockholms universitet/Naturhistoriska riksmuseet söker doktorand till forskarutbildningen i zoologisk systematik under projektet ”Systematic and taxonomic revision of Scandinavian Empidoidea (Insecta, Diptera), with emphasis on the Swedish diversity of Empididae and Hybotidae”.
Postat 20 januari 2015 av Kjell Arne Johanson
Sista ansökningsdag är 15 februari 2015. Hela annonsen finns här:
Med hälsningar,
Kjell Arne Johanson, kjell.arne.johanson@nrm.se
En ny artikel i tidskriften Science bjuder på den hittills största och mest detaljerade kartläggningen av svamparnas mångfald. Ett forskarlag bestående av deltagare från 23 länder analyserade 365 jordprover från sex kontinenter med högeffektiv DNA-sekvenseringsteknik. Närmare 45,000 arter påträffades, av vilka mindre än 10% kunde identifieras till artnivå.
”Fjorton större grupper av arter kunde inte ens identifieras på klass-nivå.”, konstaterar Henrik Nilsson vid Göteborgs Universitet, medförfattare till studien.
Utöver det taxonomiska sprängstoffet, medförde den breda geografiska och klimatrelaterade samplingen att flera sedan länge etablerade hypoteser kring svamparnas biogeografi och makroekologi kunde prövas. Lite oväntat visade sig klimat- och jord-variabler såsom nederbördsmängd respektive pH vara avgörande för svampars kolonisering. Detta står i strid med dogmen att svampdiversiteten är intimt och oupplösligt kopplad till växtdiversiteten i varje område.
”Och fler omkullkastade dogmer lär det bli”, fortsätter Henrik, ”i takt med att vi nu har redskap att närma oss den eukaryota biodiversiteten och de processer som formar den på ett helt nytt, data-baserat sätt.”
Studien är ett exempel på den taxonomiska och ekologiska syntes som blir möjlig genom global sampling, högeffektiv DNA-sekvensering och världsomspännande samarbete. Vidare sätts svamparna som organismgrupp upp på agendan; i ljuset av studien framstår det som lätt försumligt att närma sig frågor kring ekosystemtjänster, klimatförändringar och makroekologi utan att inbegripa svampriket.
Summary in English
Fungi play major roles in ecosystem processes, but the determinants of fungal diversity and biogeographic patterns remain poorly understood. Using DNA metabarcoding data from hundreds of globally distributed soil samples, we demonstrate that fungal richness is decoupled from plant diversity. The plant-to-fungus richness ratio declines exponentially toward the poles. Climatic factors, followed by edaphic and spatial variables, constitute the best predictors of fungal richness and community composition at the global scale. Fungi show similar latitudinal diversity gradients to other organisms, with several notable exceptions. These findings advance our understanding of global fungal diversity patterns and permit integration of fungi into a general macroecological framework.
Collection site in Nothofagus pumilio forests of Patagonia
Courtesy of Alina Greslebin
Collection site in Guyana
Courtesy of Terry Henkel
Jordprover till studien samlades in från hela världen. Bilderna visar två insamlingsplatser, Patagonien (ovan) och Guyana (nedan)
URL: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/346/6213/1256688.abstract