UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE BLOEMFONTEIN, SOUTH AFRICA. POSTDOC POSITION – 2017

DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY & ENTOMOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE BLOEMFONTEIN, SOUTH AFRICA

POSTDOC POSITION – 2017

The position is available for an initial 2 years of which extension to the second year is dependent on satisfactory performance with respect to the agreed targets. Extension to the third year is also possible if required by a project.

The Herpetology Group forms part of the Department of Zoology & Entomology at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The university is located in the central part of the country. The group currently comprises an honours student, three masters students and one doctoral student. It is led by Prof. Neil Heideman. It focuses on Southern African herpetology, specializing in functional morphology, various aspects of ecology, phylogeny, population genetics and biodiversity conservation. Current projects include the ecology and population genetics of the tent tortoise, Psammobates tentorius; ecology and spatial utilization of the berg adder, Bitis atropos; phylogeny, phylogeography, landscape genetics and bioacoustics of olive toads (Sclerophrys) in southern Africa; and the description and evolution of the primary sense organs in reptiles.

We are looking for a candidate skilled in evolutionary and population genetics who enjoys fieldwork. First preference will be given to frog specialists.

Our funding comes from the university, our department and the National Research Foundation of South Africa. You will have access to state-of-the-art sequencing and other core facilities. English is the medium of communication.

REMUNERATION

A tax-free monthly salary commensurate with good living standards in South Africa is offered.

To Apply:

Please forward the following to Prof. Neil Heideman at heidemannj@ufs.ac.za

1. A cover letter outlining your background and suitability for the position

2. Your updated CV

3. Copies of your degree certificates

4. Contact details of two referees

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Closing date: Applications will remain open until the position is filled.

Mass deaths of frogs in Pyrenees

In March 2017 a mass mortality of brown frog (Rana temporaria) has been observed in Parc national des Pyrénées in two places at Val d’Azun and Gavarnie.

Ranavirus have been found and could be the cause of death or a co-factor.

If ever you observe unusual frogs death in Pyrenees, please contact the Société Herpétologique de France (christophe.eggert@lashf.org) or use the web site www.alerte-amphibien.fr.

The information will then be forwarded to whom it may concern.

FIRST INTERNATIONAL KING COBRA SYMPOSIUM

FIRST INTERNATIONAL KING COBRA SYMPOSIUM OCTOBER 6-8TH 2017

VAN DER VALK HOTEL , VEENENDAAL (NETHERLANDS)

Dear reptile enthusiasts,

We would like to invite you to be a part of a unique symposium! A fantastic line up of internationally renowned scientists, biologists and conservationists.

They’ll inform you on all the work being conducted in king cobra research and conservation as well as many other interesting topics.

Unfortunately the king cobra is getting more and more threatened just as many other reptile species and much work needs to be done to preserve this remarkable snake species.

This symposium has as mentioned before an incredible line up with keynote speakers as; Romulus Whitaker, Dr Bryan Grieg Fry, Matt Goode, Joe Wasilewski, Dr Colin Strine, prof Indraniel Das en Gowri Shankar, there all part of the 17 speakers take part in the symposium.

All the proceeds of the symposium will go directly to conservation and research, making it an important event for wildlife.

One of the keynote speakers will also give a presentation on a scientific breakthrough on which we’ll have the world premiere.

This makes visiting the symposium especially interesting.

Due to the enormous diversity of speakers and topics , the symposium will be suitable for a large interest group like animal enthusiasts, veterinarians, scientists, conservationists, students of biology and wildlife management, teachers of animal husbandry and ecology and also
toxicologists.

The symposium will stretch over a two day period (6 and 7 October 2017) and on the 8th visitors might be able to visit the snakeday at Houten.

All info needed for making reservations is in the symposium website: www.kingcobrasymposium.com

Studies on the ecology of the Pyrenean newt (Calotriton asper): knowledge, conservation and future challenges

The objective for this meeting is to gather people involved and interested in the Pyrenean newt (researchers, NGOs, environmental managers, etc.) during one day in Barcelona. In addition, the participation in the congress is open to the other groups that work in the Pyrenees, which can provide complementary data for e.g. the knowledge of ecology of the species (geographers, hydrobiologists, etc.) and potential threats.

Institut d’Estudis Catalans, 15 de maig de 2017
Carrer del Carme, 47; Barcelona.

Registration is compulsory. Please write an email to the ICHN Secretariat: ichn@iec.cat.

Payment: Bank transfer to ICHN. Account Number ES51 0133 3001 2042 0000 2683, indi cating your name plus Trito Code.

Registration until the 7th of May, 2017. Fee: 15 euros. Free for students.

Organisation commitee: Delfí Sanuy, Universitat de Lleida.

Spontaneous magnetic alignment behaviour in free-living lizards

Diego-Rasilla, F.J., Pérez-Mellado, V. & Pérez-Cembranos, A. (2017). Spontaneous magnetic alignment behaviour in free-living lizards. Sci Nat, 104: 13. doi:10.1007/s00114-017-1439-7

The evidence from this study suggests that free-living lacertid lizards exhibit magnetic alignment behaviour, since their body alignments cannot be explained by an effect of the sun’s position. On the contrary, lizard orientations were significantly correlated with geomagnetic field values at the time of each observation. We suggest that this behaviour might provide lizards with a constant directional reference while they are sun basking. This directional reference might improve their mental map of space to accomplish efficient escape behaviour. This study is the first to provide spontaneous magnetic alignment behaviour in free-living reptiles. leer más >>>